Amid heavy protests from students, Bangladesh Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan has stepped down from his top post of the Supreme Court, Dhaka Tribune reported.
Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Prof Asif Nazrul shared the news in a Facebook post on Saturday afternoon and said, "I feel it is necessary to share a special news with you. Our chief justice has resigned few minutes back. His resignation letter has already reached the law ministry. We will send it to the President without delay for taking necessary measures."
Hassan, in his resignation letter, wrote, "To protect the Supreme Court building and its records, to protect the court premises, to protect the homes of the judges, to protect the Judges Tower, to protect the judges from physical assault, and to protect the district courts and record rooms, I had to make this decision, Dhaka Tribune cited.
The decision came after a sea of protestors, majorly students, surrounded the Supreme Court, demanding the resignation of the Chief Justice.
Meanwhile, the five other justices in the Appellate Division of the top court -- Justices M Enayetur Rahim, Abu Zafor Siddique, Mohammad Jahangir Hossain, Md Shahinur Islam, and Kashefa Hussain -- have also reportedly decided to resign.
The tense situation in the nation escalated after Hassan called a full court meeting with all justices from both the divisions of the top court. The protestors took this meeting as a judiciary coup and protested at the High Court premises.
Hasant Abdullah, one of the coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, had issued an ultimatum demanding the resignation of the chief justice and the justices of the Appellate division.
However, in view of the increasing protests, Chief Justice Hassan postponed the meeting. Later, he said that he would step down from his post.
Notably, Hassan -- appointed as the Chief Justice at the Supreme Court in 2023 -- is seen as a loyalist to the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who abruptly stepped down from her post and fled Dhaka on Monday.
Meanwhile, Prof Asif Nazrul had said that the Chief Justice should determine his fate to protect the judiciary's dignity and respect the demands of the protesters.
"I have seen the students' complaints. The way the chief justice had called the full court meeting seemed like a move in favour of the defeated autocratic forces. Before I comment on this, I want to say a few words, our chief justice is a very respectable person," Nazrul was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune.
He further added, "However, there were questions about him, especially during this movement. He had questioned whether a verdict can be changed by protest. This was not well received by people."
He also alleged that Hassan went abroad and stayed at the houses of several Awami League, adding that there were many controversies about him.
Describing the situation as "unfortunate", Prof Nazrul said that such incidents should not happen. "We believe the Supreme Court is our biggest institution for protecting the Constitution and human rights. No one should do anything that positions that SC against the mass movement of the students."
The fresh protest comes just days after Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus took oath as the head of the interim government in the nation. The 84-year-old economist-turned-politician pledged to "uphold, support, and protect the constitution", vowing to perform his duties sincerely.
Sixteen other people were also included in the interim council with members drawn mainly from civil society and including two of the student protest leaders.
