The new chief justice is likely to be appointed by tomorrow as the post has been vacant since immediate past chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha stepped down on November 10 last year.

Names of a few Appellate Division judges are being discussed for consideration, a reliable source in the law ministry told The Daily Star yesterday.

Contacted over phone, Law Minister Anisul Huq said President Abdul Hamid would appoint the new CJ very soon.

The president knows very well who will be the next chief justice and when the appointment will be made, he added.

Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah, the senior most judge of the Appellate Division, has been performing the functions of the CJ since October 3 last year when Justice SK Sinha went on leave on health ground.

Justice Sinha, the 21st chief justice of the country, resigned amid flak from the ruling quarters over different issues, including cancellation of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution.

He left the country on October 13 last year.