President appoints Syed Refaat Ahmed in Chief Justice post

 
President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Saturday appointed Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed as the new Chief Justice of Bangladesh.Officials associated with the judicial service told it to mass media.

Syed Refaat Ahmed said that he, the senior most High Court Division judge, was elevated to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court and was made Chief Justice. Syed Refaat Ahmed is the 25th Chief Justice of Bangladesh. Officials at the Supreme Court said that the new Chief Justice's oath-taking ceremony is most likely to be held on Sunday. The President appointed Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed as the chief justice after the resignation of Justice Obaidul Hassan from the Chief Justice post earlier Saturday.

The decision on the resignation of immediate past Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan came following students' demonstrations on Saturday while they issued an ultimatum to him and judges of the Appellate Division to resign by 1:00pm. Later on five more judges of the Appellate Division resigned from their posts.

The five Appellate Division judges who resigned from their posts are Justice M Enayetur Rahim, Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique, Justice Jahangir Hossain, Justice Md Shahinur Islam and Justice Kashefa Hussain, according to a gazette notification issued by the Law Ministry.

Newly appointed Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed is the son of former esteemed jurist and two terms adviser to the caretaker government Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed. Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed held an adviser post to the 1991 caretaker government and once again in the 2001 non-partisan caretaker government. Most of the legal experts of Bangladesh regard Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed as a legendary figure in the field of laws and legal systems. Moreover, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed strongly played his role to secure international support for Bangladesh during the Liberation War of 1971.

It would not be out of place to add that some television channels showed on Saturday morning that Justice Md. Ashfaqul Islam was appointed as Acting

Chief Justice right after the resignation of ex Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan. However, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs confirmed on Saturday evening (10 August) that no acting chief justice was appointed at all.

The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs has urged all media outlets to abstain from presenting ambiguous reports on the appointment of Chief Justice.

It may be added that Bangladesh Constitution does not contain any post called "acting chief justice". Generally the senior most justice of the Appellate Division carries out the work of the Chief Justice in case of the Chief Justice's absence for any reason.