Taposh: CJ must resign

Awami League lawmaker Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh has claimed that Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha has violated his oath and should resign top judiciary post. “By referring to a Pakistan court order that disqualified Nawaz Sharif as prime minister, the chief justice has violated his oath. After that, he should not remain as chief justice anymore,” said Barrister Taposh, Member Secretary of Bangabandhu Awami Ainjibi Parishad, on Tuesday. “The chief justice must resign. If he doesn’t, there will be movements against him.” Taposh’s call came a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina slammed Chief Justice Sinha for his remarks made on Sunday to Attorney General Mahbubey Alam using the resignation of Nawaz Sharif as an example of how a court order is not criticised and scrutinised. Taposh was addressing a meeting organised by the pro-Awami League lawyers at the Supreme Court Bar Association premises demanding annulment of the Supreme Court verdict that scrapped the 16th Amendment to the Constitution. Ainjibi Parishad Convener Advocate Yusuf Hossain Humayun, Advocate SM Rezaul Karim, Advocate Nurul Islam Sujon MP and Advocate Rabiul Alam Budu also spoke at the programme. However, the pro-BNP lawyers demanded the PM’s resignation from another programme earlier in the day organised by Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum at the North Hall of Supreme Court Bar Association. They also called for Law Commission Chairman ABM Khairul Haque’s arrest over his comments on the appeals verdict declaring the 16th constitutional amendment illegal. Terming some of the observations made by Chief Justice Sinha as “irrelevant and immature”, Khairul earlier this month said the verdict appeared "preconceived" to him. The Appellate Division verdict August 2 reinstated the Supreme Judicial Council to sack top court judges. Earlier through the amendment in 2014, parliament had taken back its powers to sack judges on grounds of incompetence and misconduct. Apart from Tuesday’s events, Socialist Party of Bangladesh General Secretary Khalequzzaman in a statement said the government was reacting to the issue without even reading the full verdict. He said the government was also trying to create an unwanted chaos over the issue.