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Canada, with the hope to return to Bangladesh soon.

“After the fall of Hasina regime, I wanted to return but the Yunus government didn’t cooperate with me … didn’t issue travel documents [which I] applied [for] with an emergency fee of $610 for both of us [me and my wife]. The present government is also not responding to my request. I am facing financial restraints here. My pension has also not been paid. Now my mother-in-law is on her deathbed. We want to return to Bangladesh on an emergency basis if our travel documents are issued.”

Replying to a question, Sinha said he requested the current government through ruling BNP members to help ensure his and his wife’s return to the country. “But it appeared to me the government was killing time for obvious reasons. My health condition is deteriorating; I want to take last breath in my country.”

Asked about the status of any case filed against him, he said he has been convicted by a court in Bangladesh in a case which “is a sham” and with “no evidence at all”.

“I will face the court. I don’t bother about the case. If I start talking about the ‘merit’ of the case, it will be seen how Hasina’s regime used the judiciary for blackmail.”

Former chief justice SK Sinha faced a barrage of harsh criticism from Awami League leaders in 2017 following a Supreme Court verdict that scrapped the 16th constitutional amendment, with lawmakers even calling for action against him in parliament. He went on leave in October that year and left the country, later resigning from abroad in November amid the controversy.

The 16th amendment, passed by the parliament on September 17, 2014, would give power to Jatiya Sangsad to remove SC judges if allegations of incapability or misconduct against them are proved.

In 2019, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case against him and others on charges including money laundering. A court subsequently convicted him in a graft case and sentenced him in absentia to 11 years in prison.