Dhaka, Jan 12 (IANS): Surendra Kumar Sinha, seniormost appellate judge in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, was Monday appointed the chief justice of the country.

He will take over as chief justice Jan 17, media reported.

He succeeds Justice Md. Muzammel Hossain who retires Jan 16, bdnews24.com reported.

“The swearing-in of Justice Sinha would take place the following day at the Bangabhaban,” said Law Minister Anisul Huq.

Justice Sinha, who turns 64 next month, will be the 21st head of judiciary in Bangladesh and the first non-Muslim to hold the top position in the Muslim-majority country.

Earlier, President Md. Abdul Hamid appointed Justice Sinha, who became a high court judge in October 1999 and got elevated to the appellate division in July 2009, choosing not to supersede the most senior judge as it happened in the past in some cases.

Born Feb 1, 1951, Sinha began his career in Sylhet enrolling himself with the local bar in 1974.

Sinha sat on the appellate bench that heard the 13th Amendment appeal and scrapped the provision for a caretaker government to oversee national elections.

Justice Sinha was also part of the bench that heard the 2009 appeals in the Bangabandhu murder case and has been an appeals judge in the ongoing war crimes trials.

He will serve just over three years as chief justice with his retirement due in early 2018.