DHAKA: Bangladesh on Saturday said its chief justice has tendered his resignation from overseas in the wake of government corruption allegations, as opposition groups raised fears that his departure was a blow to judicial independence.

Surendra Kumar Sinha, who led the Supreme Court to a landmark verdict on judicial oversight in August that went against the government, left Bangladesh last month amid widespread rumours that he had been pressured to step aside.

“His resignation letter has reached the Bangabhaban (presidential palace),” Joynal Abedin, press secretary to President Abdul Hamid, said, adding that once submitted his termination was irreversible.

Sinha, who is believed to be visiting his daughter in Canada, was accused of serious crimes last month including money laundering and financial irregularities, just a day after he departed on a month-long leave, expressing his fears for judicial independence in the nation.

Former law and justice minister Moudud Ahmed, now a member of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), called the resignation “unprecedented and shameful”.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2015