President Abdul Hamid has signed the government order [GO file], granting Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha the permission to leave Bangladesh for Australia.
Abu Saleh Sheikh Md Zahirul Haque, secretary of Law & Justice Division, confirmed the matter to Bangla Tribune on Wednesday.
He confirmed that the president has given his approval, making way for the government order to be issued on Thursday.
Surendra Kumar Sinha will be free to leave Dhaka for Australia anytime, following the formal issuance of the order. However, he had written to the president last Tuesday, mentioning his plans to leave country on October 13.
Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Anisul Huq signed the government order file.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVJSAQ9XHTA&feature=youtu.be[/embed]It could be mentioned, Surendra Kumar Sinha went on a one month leave from October 3, citing health complications.
A faction of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and several opposition party leaders claimed that the chief justice is being forcibly sent on leave due to his stance on the 16th amendment to the constitution and criticism over the delay for issuance of gazette on rules for lower court judges’ conduct.
However, both the government and the ruling party Awami League have denied these speculations. No statement regarding the matter has been released by the chief justice or the court as yet.
Meanwhile, the Australian High Commission granted the Surendra’s application last Sunday, and gave him and his wife visa for 3 years.
Last Tuesday, the chief justice wrote to the president through the law ministry, detailing his plans to visit Australia. The letter mentions Surendra’s plans to stay in Australia from October 13 to November 10.
The procedures for issuing a government order started as soon as the letter reached the law ministry.
Surendra Kumar Sinha was appointed chief justice on January 17, 2015, and he is set to retire on January 31 next year.
This article was first published on Bangla Tribune.
