Former chief justice of Bangladesh Surendra Kumar Sinha in his autobiography said he was forced to resign last year following intimidation and threats, drawing a sharp reaction from prime minister Sheikh Hasina who accused some anti-government newspapers of backing him.
Sinha, Bangladesh's first Hindu chief justice, made these remarks in the autobiography 'A Broken Dream: Rule of Law, Human Rights and Democracy".
He said that the government "exiled" him after he had resigned in the face of intimidation and threats".
The tension between the Hasina-led government and Sinha was triggered by a verdict in July last year nullifying a constitutional amendment that would have given the Parliament power to impeach judges.
His resignation came a month after he went on leave to Australia amid his row with the government over the judgement.
The government said he was sick, but before leaving Bangladesh on October 13 last year, Sinha said he was 'not sick, but embarrassed' at the criticism by the ruling Awami League.
Reacting to his autobiography, Hasina said, "Please unveil who gives money for launching the book."
Hasina hinted that some influential ant-government Bangladeshi newspapers and a prominent lawyer known for his stubborn anti-government stance sponsored Sinha in getting his autobiography published from abroad, but preferred not to elaborate.
She declined to take names and instead asked the journalists to find them out.
"I know about it (the answers) . . . I want to know about it from you," Hasina, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly session, was quoted by the state-run BSS as saying.
After his resignation, the Supreme Court said in a rare statement that Justice Sinha had been facing 11 specific charges, including corruption, money laundering, financial irregularities and moral blunder.
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