Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, the senior most Judge of the Supreme Court Appellate Division, was appointed the new Chief Justice on Monday. The President in exercise of his power under article 95 (1) of the Constitution made the appointment, said a gazette notification. Justice Sinha, popularly known as SK Sinha, will succeed Justice M Muzammel Hossain who retires on January 16. According to Law Secretary (in-charge) ASSM Zahirul Haque, Justice Sinha will take oath of office as the 21st Chief Justice. With the new appointment of Justice Sinha, Bangladesh gets the first-ever Chief Justice from the country’s ethic minority community Manipuri in Maulvibazar district since its independence. The tenure of the new Chief Justice will be of almost three years as he is scheduled to retire on January 31, 2018. Justice Sinha, a chamber junior of noted jurist SR Paul, was elevated to the High Court bench from the bar on October 24, 1999 and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on July 16, 2009. A Chittagong University Law graduate, Sinha started his legal practice in Sylhet district courts in 1974. He got enrolled in the High Court and Supreme Court as a lawyer in 1978 and 1990 respectively. – UNB, Dhaka.
