Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, a senior judge of the Supreme Court, was appointed the 22nd chief justice of the country yesterday, superseding Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah, who had been discharging duties of the chief justice for the last four months.

The president appoints Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, a judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC), as new chief justice of the country.

The new chief justice will likely be appointed by Thursday. The names of few apex court judges are being discussed for the appointment, a reliable source in the law ministry told The Daily Star today.

The High Court defers for a week the hearing on a writ petition that challenged the legality of keeping the post of chief justice vacant and not appointing a successor to former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha.