Rise and fall of Justice Sinha

Surendra Kumar Sinha was born in 1951 to the minority Bishnupriya Manipuri community at Moulvibazar in Sylhet. He took the reins of the judiciary on Jan 17, 2015.

He was sworn in as Bangladesh's 21st chief justice and became the first non-Muslim to hold the position in the Muslim-majority country.

Here are the key events that followed the career path and ultimate downfall of Justice SK Sinha -  

1974 - Sinha enrolls as an advocate of Sylhet District Court and conducts sessions trial cases independently till the end of 1977

1978 and 1990 - Obtains permission to practice before the High Court Division and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh

1999 - He is promoted as a judge of the High Court Division on 24 October

Appointments 

2009 July - He is appointed as a judge of the appellate division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh

2011 - He assumes the office of the chairman of Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission

2015 - Sinha is promoted as chief justice 

2017 Aug 21 - Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina bashes Justice Sinha for his observations included in the 16th amendment verdict

2017 Aug 23 - BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi used Sinha’s illness as excuse to be removed as Chief Justice

2017 Aug 24 - Chief Justice Sinha spends last day in office before the apex court’s annual vacation

2017 Sept 14 - Parliament passes motion to take legal steps against the Supreme Court verdict on the 16th amendment

2017 September - The Jatiya Sangsad passes a resolution calling for legal steps to nullify the Supreme Court verdict

2017 Oct 2- Sinha takes a month's leave

Fallout

Justice Md. Abdul Wahhab Miah was appointed to discharge the duties of the chief justice in Sinha’s absence. 

Earlier, law minister Anisul Huq reported Sinha went on leave for treatment as he was suffering from cancer. Sinha later rejected this claim. 

It was alleged by Bangladesh National Party that Sinha was forced to leave the country under political exploitation. 

2017 October - Supreme Court releases statement citing 11 charges against Sinha including money laundering, financial irregularities, corruption, and moral turpitude

2017 September - President Abdul Hamid hands over evidence on the allegations to four other appellate division justices

2018 January - Sinha flies to Canada when his 39-day leave expired

2019 July - The Anti-Corruption Commission sues Sinha and 10 others on the charge of money laundering

Sinha rejects the allegations against and denies to defend himself in court

During the hearing of a war criminal's appeal, Justice Sinha said that in 1971 he was a member of Peace Committee, formed to help the Pakistani forces in suppressing the freedom struggle of the Bengalis.

Sinha reported he had done it to 'save his life', but it was later evident that he used to pass information during nighttime to the freedom fighters.

Justice Sinha was on the appeals bench that heard the 13th Amendment appeal and scrapped the provision for caretaker government to oversee general elections.

The chief justice's row with the government over publishing the gazette notification for services rule for lower court judges often made news headlines.

In the five months after the Supreme Court verdict in July, Justice Sinha stepped down from the office of the country's judiciary.

His term was scheduled to end on January 31, 2018, but he resigned 81 days ahead. He served the office for 1,030 days.

He was part of the bench that heard the 2009 appeals in the Bangabandhu Murder Case and has been an appeals judge in the ongoing war crimes trials.

Sinha is known for a number of high-profile judgments including those on the killing of former President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the 5th and 13th amendments to the Constitution of Bangladesh.