Newly-appointed Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki, who was confirmed by the Parliamentary Hearing Committee (PHC) on Friday, will be leading the Judiciary for the shortest period of time until August 4 because of his delayed confirmation by the PHC.

Had the PHC confirmed him in time, he would have led the Judiciary for seven months. But it took months to form the PHC even after the November 20 general elections. Karki was appointed to the post of Chief Justice, 17 months after the post went vacant. It was great injustice meted out to the very Judiciary, which has the onus to implement the constitution and laws of the land. Following the unceremonious ouster of then chief justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana through an inconclusive impeachment motion, the Judiciary had been run by acting Chief Justices, both by Deepak Karki and Hari Krishna Karki.

The Judiciary should not have been run without its confirmed leader even for a single day as should be the case when it comes to leading the executive and legislature bodies. Because of the absence of leadership in the Judiciary, the Judicial Council, which is led by a sitting Chief Justice, has not been able to appoint judges in the vacant positions in the Supreme Court, High Court and District Courts.

With just an one-and-half months tenure as Chief Justice, Karki needs to appoint justices and judges in the various courts on merit basis, implement the automation-based cause list that he strongly recommended in his report in 2021, and enforce the compliance of the Judicial Council Act, which requires it to nominate the next Chief Justice one month before the end of the incumbent Chief Justice's tenure expires. An automation-based cause list system was expected to end the activism of middlemen or brokers who are widely engaged in 'bench-shopping' to get justice delivered in favour of their clients. At present, a lottery-based cause list is in practice in the Supreme Court, but it does not provide checks against recusal on technical grounds. One of the biggest challenges that lie ahead for Karki is to ensure that judges are appointed to the apex and lower courts without any political interference. The automation-based cause list must be introduced even in the lower courts.

As the Chief Justice, Karki would do a great service to the nation if he can ensure that all the judges decide to start their benches at 11:00am sharp and deliver their verdict without delay. As the old adage 'justice delayed is justice denied' goes, all three tiers of the Judiciary must try their best to deliver justice in time. For this to materialise, the Constitutional Council, Judicial Council and PHC must discharge their duties responsibly without fail. Appointment of judges in all levels must be fulfilled in time to settle the cases without any delay. There are some cases, especially related to corruption involving high-profile politicians, bureaucrats and business houses, which have remained undecided for a long period of time. Given his shortest period of time as the Chief Justice, Karki will not be able to accomplish his job as per the public expectations. But he can at least initiate some major reforms in the Judiciary as per his own report, which will serve as a guideline for his successors to follow and even expand on it.

Monkeypox

Now that the first case of monkeypox infection has been confirmed in a 60-year-old woman in the country, it is the responsibility of the government, health officials and the people to see to it that it does not spread any further. The disease is highly contagious as it can spread through close contact from persons, animals and materials. The identity of the woman has not been revealed, but she is said to have visited Nepal several times after having toured many foreign countries. Since the virus has now spread to 111 countries, the chances of the virus entering Nepal are high.

The country is already burdened by a number of diseases, from the coronavirus to dengue and swine flu, and the addition of one more could prove devastating for its fragile health system. So the best option is to create awareness among the people as in the case of diseases like COVID-19 and dengue, and have them take preventive measures. Common symptoms of monkeypox include rashes, fever, sore throat, headache, muscle pain, back pain and swollen lymph nodes, among others. The authorities would do good to step up surveillance at the border points to prevent any new cases of the disease.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 19, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.