Who will be the next chief justice?
Syed Mahmud Hossain, the current chief justice, will retire tomorrow, as he will turn 68 the day after that.
Article 96 (1) of the constitution states, "Subject to other provisions of this article, a judge shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-seven years."
However, it is still not clear who will be appointed as the next (23rd) chief justice of Bangladesh, and when will the president announce the appointment.
And so, there is a buzz at the Supreme Court premises over this issue.
"The honourable president will appoint the new chief justice. I don't know whom and when he [President Abdul Hamid] will appoint. He has the sole authority to do so, as per the constitution," Law Minister Anisul Huq told The Daily Star on Monday.
Meanwhile, some SC lawyers told this correspondent that the next chief justice will be appointed from the four judges of the Appellate Division, considering political issues and the next parliamentary election.
There is a precedent of appointing chief justices by superseding other judges of the apex court who were their seniors. Some of the superseded judges had resigned from office due to this, they said.
Of the sitting Appellate Division judges, Justice Muhammad Imman Ali will retire on December 31, 2022, Justice Hasan Foez Siddique on September 25, 2023, Justice Md Nuruzzaman on June 30, 2023, and Justice Obaidul Hassan on January 10, 2026, SC sources said.
The pro-BNP lawyers have demanded no supersession in appointing the new chief justice.
Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain was appointed as the 22nd chief justice on February 2, 2018, superseding Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah, who had been discharging duties of the chief justice for four months.
The post of chief justice had remained vacant for about three months, after Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha stepped down on November 10, 2017.
Later in the day on February 2, 2018, Justice Wahhab resigned as an apex court judge.
Earlier, six other apex court judges -- Justice KM Hasan, Justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain, Justice MM Ruhul Amin, Justice Md Tafazzul Islam, Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Justice Md Muzammel Hossain -- were appointed chief justice, ignoring seniority of their colleagues.
Comments