Hundreds of people protest outside the Supreme Court demanding the resignation of Obaidul Hassan, considered loyal to former Prime Minister Hasina.
Bangladesh's chief justice has said he has agreed “in principle” to step down following an ultimatum from protesters, days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to neighbouring India.
Obaidul Hassan, who was appointed to head the Supreme Court last year and is seen as a Hasina loyalist, was ordered to resign on Saturday by protesters who gathered outside the court in the capital Dhaka.
Al Jazeera's Tanvir Chowdhury, reporting from Dhaka, said the students decided to take to the streets when they heard reports that Hassan was holding a meeting with judges from the Appeals Division.
“They saw it as a judicial coup in the making, so they quickly gathered at the Supreme Court and demanded his immediate resignation,” Chowdhury said.
An official letter confirming Hassan's decision to step down was expected to be sent after consultations with President Mohammed Shahabuddin. The students believe the Supreme Court is highly politicised and want the other seven members to step down as well, according to Chowdhury.
Awami League party leader Hasina, 76, fled by helicopter to India on Monday. Her government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of her political opponents.
Hassan oversaw a much-criticized war crimes tribunal that ordered the execution of Hasina's opponents, and his brother was its longtime secretary.
Cabinet ministers caught off guard by his sudden downfall have taken refuge on the ground, while several senior officials have been forced to leave their posts, including the national police chief and the central bank governor.
On Friday, the bank's governor, Abdur Rouf Talukder, resigned from his post citing personal reasons. Protesters had stormed the central bank's headquarters amid political turmoil leading up to the end of Hasina's 15-year rule.
Muhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinance, which is credited with helping millions of Bangladeshis out of poverty, is leading a transitional government, another of the student leaders' demands.
The economist took office on Thursday as “chief adviser” to an interim government made up of civilians, except for a retired brigadier general. He said he wants to hold elections “within a few months.”
Yunus called for religious unity on Saturday as he hugged the tearful mother of the first student shot dead by police during anti-government protests last month.
“Don’t make any distinctions based on religion,” he told reporters. “Our responsibility is to build a new Bangladesh.”
Speaking about Abu Sayeed, Yunus said the slain 25-year-old was now “in every home”.
“Just as he stood up, we must do the same,” he said as he paid his respects alongside members of his advisory cabinet.
“There is no difference in Abu Sayeed's Bangladesh,” he added.
