A Dhaka court on Thursday framed charges against the former Chief Justice of Bangladesh Justice S.K. Sinha and ten others in a money laundering case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).The court has fixed August 18 for starting the  trial in the case.

Out of the 11 accused, three were present in the court during the hearing on Thursday while eight others including former Chief Justice S.K. Sinha are absconding.

The ACC had filed the case against Justice Sinha and others in July last year for a fraudulent loan transaction and money laundering of 4 crore Taka from Farmers Bank in 2016. It had filed the chargesheet in a Dhaka court in December last year which was transferred to the court of a special judge in February this year.

Justice Sinha was appointed as Chief Justice of Bangladesh in 2015. He had resigned amid controversy about a judgement of the Supreme Court which struck down the law giving power to parliament to remove justices of the Supreme Court. 

Three months before his retirement, he had left for Australia in October 2017 and subsequently sent in his resignation from abroad. 
In his autobiography Justice S.K. Sinha claimed that he stepped down as Chief Justice due to intimidation and threats. The allegations have been denied by the government.

He is currently in the US. Earlier he had sought political asylum in Canada.

Justice S.K. Sinha was the first minority Chief Justice of Bangladesh belonging to the Hindu community.