Bangladesh gets acting chief justice after Obaidul Hassan's resignation

Appellate Division Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam wasappointed as the acting chief justice of Bangladesh on Saturday after the resignation ofObaidul Hassan on Saturday (Aug 10)in the face of the protests against the previous government led by oustedPrime MinisterSheikh Hasina, local media reported.

Chief Justice Hassan, who was appointed to helm the Supreme Court last year and is seen as a loyalist to ousted premier Sheikh Hasina, was told to step down by protesters who gathered outside the apex court in Dhaka.

Protesters demand resignation of all SC judges

His resignation comes days after Hasina stepped down as the prime minister and fled Bangladesh. Following her ouster, student protesterswho were demonstrating against quotas in government jobs demandedthe resignation of all judges of the Supreme Court including the chief justice.

Reports said that hundreds of protesters surrounded the top court demanding Hassan's resignation and the chief justice fled the premises.

"No one should do anything that pits the Supreme Court against the mass uprising of the students and the people," a student protesternow serving in the new government led byMuhammad Yunus, told reporters.

Hassan oversaw war crimes tribunal

As chief justice,Hassanoversaw a much-criticised war crimes tribunal that ordered the execution of Hasina's opponents, and his brother was her longtime secretary.

Last month, the Supreme Courttemporarily suspended quotas for coveted government jobs following the nationwide protests which turned violent.

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The quota system reservedmore than half of well-paid and massively over-subscribed civil service posts, totalling hundreds of thousands of government jobs, for specific groups including children of liberation heroes.

The quota system was abolished in 2018 after weeks of protests, but reinstated in June by Dhaka's High Court, sparking fury from students.

Central bank governor resigns

Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukderalso resigned citing personal reasons for his departure, a report by Bloomberg said.He is leaving two years before his term ends.

Talukder, 60, took office in July 2022 when the nation was facing a currency devaluation and high inflation. During his reign, he tried to introduce greater flexibility in market interest rates and currency management.

However, he was often criticised for failing to address governance issues in the banking sector that led to high loan default rates.

(With inputs from agencies)