Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed appointed as Chief Justice

President Mohammad Shahabuddin on Saturday appointed Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed as the 25th Chief Justice of Bangladesh.

The appointment was announced by Bangabhaban, and a notification has also been issued by the Ministry of Law on Saturday night.

The notification reads,” President Md. Shahabuddin, exercising his authority under Article 95(1) of the Constitution, has appointed Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed as the Chief Justice of Bangladesh, effective from the date of taking oath of office.”

Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, senior most judge of High Court Division of the Supreme Court, was first appointed as judge of Appellate Division and then appointed as chief justice.

The appointment came after Obaidul Hassan stepped down from his post of chief justice. His decision came following a protest from students Saturday, who issued an ultimatum to him and judges of the Appellate Division to resign by 1:00pm.

In addition, five Appellate Division justices submitted their resignations to the Ministry of Law in the same day, according to a relevant official.

The five judges are Justice Md. Enayetur Rahim, Justice Md. Abu Zafar Siddiqui, Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim, Justice Md. Shahinur Islam, and Justice Kashefa Hossain.

Confirming the resignations of the five judges, the Supreme Court Registrar General Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan said they sent their resignation letters to the president through the law ministry.

“I have forwarded the resignation letters to the law ministry for taking the necessary decision,” he said, adding that they voluntarily resigned from their offices.