The High Court will resume its proceedings on limited scale from Monday, one week after the fall of Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 government, while High Court Judge Syed Refaat Ahmed was sworn in as the country鈥檚 25th聽chief justice at the Bangabhaban on Sunday.
After assuming his office, the newly appointed chief justice constituted eight High Court benches empowering a two-judge bench to hear and dispose of writ petitions, two other benches to hear and dispose of criminal matters.
The chief justice also聽 empowered to two separate benches to hear and dispose of civil matters.
He also empowered three single-member benches to hear and dispose of civil matters and criminal matters.
Supreme Court registrar general Abdul Aziz Bhuiyan told 抖阴精品 that the Appellate Division would not hold proceedings unless new judges were appointed.
The newly appointed chief justice was sworn in at a ceremony held at the Darbar Hall of the president鈥檚 official residence about 12:45pm, administered by the president, Mohammed Shahabuddin.
Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain conducted the ceremony with chief adviser to the interim government Professor Muhammad Yunus, and advisers, judges, chiefs of the three military forces, attorney general, and Supreme Court lawyers, among others, being present.
Born on December 28, 1958, new chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed was appointed as an additional High Court judge on April 27, 2003, and his appointment was confirmed on April 27, 2005.
Earlier on Saturday evening, president Shahabuddin appointed Syed Refaat Ahmed as new chief justice following the stepping down of Obaidul Hassan from the post of chief justice at 2:30pm amid student protests and demands for his removal.
Obaidul Hassan was supposed to hold the office until January 2026 after he was sworn in as the 24th chief justice on September 26, 2023.
Five other judges of the Appellate Division, Justice M Enayetur Rahim, Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique, Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim, Justice Md Shahinur Islam, and Justice Kashefa Hussain, also stepped down on Saturday.
The demand for resignation of the chief justice and other judges came to the fore after long-time ruler Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday and fled to India amid an unprecedented student-led mass uprising.
Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus took the oath as chief adviser of the interim government along with 13 other advisers on Thursday, four days after Hasina resigned.