Attorney general Mahbubey Alam yesterday reiterated that it is “a far cry” for Chief Justice (CJ) Surendra Kumar Sinha to re-join office after returning to Bangladesh.

“I have said this earlier and I am saying it again today. How can CJ Sinha discharge his judicial duties if the other judges of the Appellate Division do not want to sit with him on the bench?” the AG told reporters at his Supreme Court office.

“This would lead to a deadlock in the country’s judiciary,” he said.

The chief law officer of the state dismissed suggestions that there has been no connection between the review petition against the SC verdict scrapping the 16th amendment and CJ Sinha’s return to the country. “The proceeding for a review will continue at its own speed. After making due preparations, the review petition will be filed in the apex court,” he said.

CJ DSinha left for Australia after taking a month’s leave on October 13 on health grounds. Before his departure, he told the media that he was not sick and would come back to the country. He is scheduled to return home on November 11.

A day after the CJ left for Australia, the SC authorities issued a statement that Appellate Division judges do not want the CJ on the bench as the President had handed them a document containing 11 allegations against him, including corruption.

On the same day, the AG said CJ Sinha re-joining office after his return home was a far cry.

Later, the government appointed Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah, the senior-most SC judge in line, as the acting CJ.