President signs GO for CJ Sinha's visit abroad

Chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha
Chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha

President Abdul Hamid on Wednesday signed the government order (GO) allowing planned overseas tour of chief justice SK Sinha, who is officially said to have been on one-month leave.

The president put his signature on the order after returning to the capital from Kishoreganj in the evening, law secretary Abu Saleh Sheikh Md Zahirul Haque told Prothom Alo.

Law minister Anisul Huq said earlier in the afternoon that the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, had signed the GO, a requirement for government officials and employees to visit any foreign country.

The one-month leave since 2 October, reportedly taken by the chief justice, has given birth to controversies in the political arena as the opposition called it forced leave. Sinha himself did not come up with any public statement.

Chief justice Sinha was said to have informed the president on Tuesday that he would stay in Australia between 13 October and 10 November. He received Australian visa last week.

The law minister on Wednesday claimed that the chief justice's private assistant sent a letter through the Appellate Division registrar to the law ministry for sending it to the president.