President Mohammed Shahabuddin today appointed Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed as the 25th chief justice of Bangladesh.

Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, senior most judge of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, was first appointed as judge of the Appellate Division and then appointed as chief justice, Law Secretary Md Golam Sarwar told reporters.


The appointment came after Obaidul Hassan stepped down from his post of chief justice. His decision came following a protest today from students, who issued an ultimatum to him and judges of the Appellate Division to resign by 1:00pm.

Later, Five more judges of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court resigned from their posts.

The five judges are Justice M Enayetur Rahim, Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique, Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim, Justice Md Shahinur Islam and Justice Kashefa Hussain.

They sent their resignation letters to the president through the law ministry, SC Registrar General Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan told The Daily Star.

"I have forwarded the resignation letters to the law ministry for taking the necessary decision," he said, adding that they voluntarily resigned from their offices.