Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha yesterday applied for an Australian visa, his aide told The Independent. “The CJ’s daughter is staying in Australia and so he has applied for a visa to go there. He has completed all the necessary formalities and the Australian embassy will ensure that he gets the visa within seven days,” Sinha’s personal secretary Anisur Rahman said.

Sinha, who is scheduled to retire in January 2018, had gone on a month’s leave from Tuesday. The law minister and the attorney general said he had taken leave because he was suffering from cancer.

Amid the widespread debates over his house arrest, the chief justice along with his wife came out from his official residence yesterday afternoon and went to Dhakeshwari Temple to celebrate Laxmi puja. After staying for sometimes, the chief justice returned to his official residence, according to the Supreme Court sources.

The CJ’s leave application came on the heels of a widespread debate on the 16th amendment verdict that restored the provision of the Supreme Judicial Council after scrapping the controversial amendment to the Constitution.

The BNP and like-minded quarters alleged that CJ Sinha was sent on forced leave following the ruling party’s outrage over the amendment verdict. However, both the law minister and the attorney general refuted the charge as “baseless”.

A number of Awami League (AL) leaders and pro-AL lawyers demanded the CJ’s resignation, accusing him of undermining Parliament and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with his verdict on the 16th Amendment.

On September 13, Jatiya Sangsad had passed a resolution by calling for legal steps to nullify the SC verdict. The law minister has said on several occasions that the government would seek a review of the judgment.

Meanwhile, acting Chief Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah yesterday (Thursday) did not pass any order on Supreme Court lawyers seeking permission to visit Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha at his residence. “We are bound by law. Does your plea fall within Article 103 of the Constitution? I am sure he (Justice Sinha) is at his home. Meeting someone is completely his personal matter. Is it our job to look into the matter? Can we pass any directive here?” Justice Miah, who led the five-member Appellate Division bench, said while

hearing a plea filed by Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Zainul Abedin on the issue of the CJ’s leave.

Earlier in the morning, the SCBA president, along with some senior lawyers, appeared before the Appellate Division and submitted an application seeking permission to meet with the Chief Justice and know his position. Advocate Zainul Abedin presented a written statement before the apex court, saying the elected members of the Bar made an attempt to visit the CJ at his official residence on October 2, following the news that he was ailing. “But unfortunately, the elected members of the Bar were not allowed to enter the residence of the Chief Justice. Hence, the SCBA prayed to the apex court to pass an order, directing the authorities concerned to allow the Bar members to visit the CJ,” he added.

The acting Chief Justice then replied that they were also concerned as they too had heard the matter. The court’s order on the matter would be passed later.

However, the acting CJ said: “Meeting someone is completely his personal matter. Can we pass any directive here?”

Senior lawyers, Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Barrister Mainul Hosein, Khandker Mahbub Hossain, AJ Mohammad Ali also submitted their statements on the matter. The senior lawyers of the SCBA met the acting CJ in the afternoon.

After coming out from the court, attorney general Mahbubey Alam told reporters that all questions raised over the leave of the Chief Justice should be ended as the acting CJ has already gave a clear opinion on the matter. So, no one should do politics over the Chief Justice’s leave, he added. Meanwhile, the Nationalist Lawyers’ Forum, a group of pro-BNP lawyers, yesterday demonstrated on the Supreme Court premises, demanding a clear position on the Chief Justice’s sudden leave. They alleged that the CJ was forced to go on leave.