Mahmud Hossain new CJ

Bangladesh has appointed a chief justice after the office had been lying vacant for about three months with a senior appellate judge performing the duties of the head of the judiciary, reports bdnews24.com.

On Friday, the president's office, the Bangabhaban, said Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain was appointed as the 22nd chief justice of the country.

President Md Abdul Hamid will swear him in today (Saturday), said the Bangabhaban spokesperson.

The new appointment was greeted by the surprise resignation of Acting Chief Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah, who sent his resignation letter to the Bangabhaban later on the day, according to the local electronic media.

Justice Wahhab Miah was set to retire on Nov 10 this year while Justice Hossain retires in December 2021.

The chief justice's office fell vacant after Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha resigned in November last year amid criticism by the ruling party over a top court verdict scrapping a constitutional amendment.

Sinha's resignation came six weeks after he went on a leave in October, when the president instructed Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah, the seniormost judge of the Appellate Division, to perform the chief justice's functions.

The government later issued an order saying that he would act as chief justice until the end of Justice Sinha's leave or his return.

"The oath-taking ceremony will take place on Saturday at 7pm," Press Secretary Joynal Abedin told the news agency.

Justice Hossain was appointed an additional High Court judge in February 2001 when the Awami League was in office, two years after Justice Miah joined the top court.

Before the High Court appointment, Hossain was serving as a deputy attorney general from December 1999. In 2003, when the BNP-Jamaat coalition was in office, Justice Hossain was made a permanent High Court judge. In 2011, he was elevated to the Appellate Division.

Born on Dec 31 in 1954, Hossain started practising law in 1981 and two years later went on to practise in the High Court.