CJ forced to go on leave: SCBA

Zainul Abedin
Zainul Abedin 

Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Zainul Abedin on Tuesday alleged that a huge pressure was exerted on the chief justice, Surendra Kumar Sinha, to go on leave.

“The SCBA thinks that a huge pressure was mounted on the chief justice so that he goes on leave for a month,” Zainul Abedin told reporters after an executive meeting of the association at the Supreme Court.

Law and parliamentary affairs minister Anisul Huq on Monday told the media that chief justice Sinha applied for one month’s leave on health grounds.

Also a vice chairman of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Zainul Abedin said, “You [newsmen] know, nation knows, and the people around the world know that after a verdict, a certain political party and the government were putting pressure exploiting various means.

“We think that the chief justice was sent on leave as a part of that pressure. He did not go on leave [willingly]. He was forced to do so.

“That’s why we’ve decided the Bar Association will continue its efforts to dig out the truth behind it and will inform the nation,” added the SCBA president.

The SCBA will hold another meeting in the afternoon to decide if it will take action programmes in this connection, he said.

Meanwhile, pro-BNP lawyers staged demonstrations on the SC premises protesting at “sending the chief justice on leave”.

Source: Prothom Alo