Attorney-general Mahbubey Alam yesterday said the judges of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) do not want sit with the Chief Justice (CJ), thereby indicating that the joining of CJ Surendra Kumar Sinha, who has gone to Australia on a month-long leave, is uncertain. “The judges of the Appellate Division are unwilling to sit with the Chief Justice in the bench…Hence, the possibility of the Chief Justice sitting in the bench to preside over proceedings of the cases looks distant,” he said while speaking at a press conference at the Supreme Court. He claimed that the government was not involved in removing him or in his taking part in the court proceedings; rather, he willingly went on leave. Since the judges of Appellate Division do not want to sit with the Chief Justice, he has been compelled to go to leave, he added. Referring to 11 specific allegations against the CJ, he said these do have a basis. He asked rhetorically that if the allegations brought against him were not true, would it be possible for him to make such statements against the country’s Chief Justice?

Earlier, in a statement, the SC disclosed that there are 11 allegations against the CJ and the judges do not want to sit with him. Replying to a question, the attorney-general said it was not a big issue as to whether he was sick or not—rather, the SC statement has ended the controversy over his leave.

When the CJ had sought leave from the President, the law minister and the attorney-general had told the media that the CJ was suffering from cancer. When he left his home for Australia, the CJ, however, said he was not sick—rather, he was embarrassed by the attitude of the government towards him. The BNP, however, has claimed that the CJ was forced to take leave and go abroad.