Dhaka: The Supreme Court proceedings were suspended for the day on Monday to mourn the demise of Appellate Division judge Justice Bazlur Rahman as his body was brought to the apex court premises for namaj-e-janaza at his workplace after his overnight death, reports BSS.

Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha announced the suspension of day’s judicial functions in both the Appellate and the High Court divisions of the Supreme Court as a mark of respect for Rahman along with High Court judge JN Deb Chowdhury, who died two weeks ago in cancer when the Supreme Court was in vacation.

Law minister Anisul Huq, judges of both the divisions of the Supreme Court joined the janaza along with a large number of lawyers and a number of admirers cutting across their professional and social backgrounds.

Attorney general Mahbubey Alam, former chief justice Muzammel Hossain, former law minister Abdul Matin Khasru and veteran lawyers like Dr Kamal Hossain, Barrister Amirul Islam, Barrister Jamiruddin Sirkar and Syed Rezaur Rahman took part in the janaza.

After the Islamic ritual and prayers, the chief justice flanked by his colleagues from both the divisions of the Supreme Court, placed wreath on the coffin of Rahman, who eventually gave up after long battle with cancer.

The law minister then offered wreaths on behalf of the government while several organizations including lawyers ones also paid tributes.

The body was later flown to his ancestral home in northwestern Chapai Nawabganj by an air force helicopter for burial at the family graveyard.

Sixty one-year-old Rahman, more known as Chhana among close associates, breathed his last at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) yesterday evening.

President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the chief justice and the law minister earlier issued statements mourning the death and recalling his contributions to the judicial arena as a former lawyer and Supreme Court judge.

Rahman is survived by his wife, two sons and a host of admirers, relatives and well-wishers.

Before his appointment as a High Court judge in 2001, Rahman was a practicing lawyer who also served as the deputy attorney general in late 1990s. He was elevated to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on February 8, 2015.

A popular former student leader Rahman was enrolled in the bar in 1984 after he obtained B Jur (Hons), M Jur and M A from Rajshahi University.

Until his appointment as a judge, he was involved in a number of social activities and earned repute of being a pro-poor lawyer and jurist.