Which amongst the following countries has appointed Justice S.K. Sinha as its Chief Justice in January, 2015?

The correct answer is D) Bangladesh. Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, a Hindu judge of the Bangladesh Supreme Court, was appointed Chief Justice of Bangladesh in January 2015, which made him the first Hindu to hold that office.

• Surinam (A): Its judiciary is not headed by an Indian judge in this context, and the question is not about a Caribbean appointment of this kind.
• Mauritius (B): Mauritius has a Chief Justice drawn from its own bar and bench. It made no such appointment in January 2015.
• Nepal (C): Nepal's Chief Justice in early 2015 was a Nepali judge, not Justice Sinha. Nepal's later Chief Justice, Sushila Karki, was appointed in 2016.

The core concept is the appointment of foreign judges and the working of constitutional courts in neighbouring states, which is a useful lens for India's South Asia and neighbourhood policy questions in Mains GS-II. Note that Justice Sinha resigned in February 2017 after a dispute over the Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Act and the judiciary's independence, so his tenure has ended.

Trap: Candidates often pick Nepal or Mauritius because of their connection to India or the Indian diaspora. Remember that the question asks about a specific January 2015 appointment, and that is Bangladesh.