KATHMANDU, AUGUST 1

A meeting of the Constitutional Council failed to nominate the next chief justice as leader of opposition KP Sharma Oli argued that candidates should be nominated for all the vacant posts in the constitutional bodies, including that of auditor general.

The Constitutional Council comprising the prime minister, leader of opposition, speaker, deputy speaker and chairperson of the National Assembly decided to meet on Thursday, according to Deputy Speaker Indira Rana Magar. Magar said although there was a tradition of nominating the senior most Justice of the SC as the next chief justice, there was, however, no law to ensure that the right person would be at the right place.

Senior most Justice Bishowambhar Shrestha is a strong claimant for the post, but a few years ago, senior most justice Deepak Raj Joshi, who was nominated as the next CJ, was rejected by the Parliamentary Hearing Committee following which Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana became the CJ. Incumbent CJ Hari Krishna Karki will retire on age ground on August 5.

Senior most Justice Bishowambhar Shrestha who hails from Doti district in western Nepal has been serving as a justice of the SC since 2016. He had started his career in the judiciary in 1986 as a section officer.

According to Deputy Speaker Rana Magar, the prime minister clarified in the CC meeting that he wanted to nominate the next CJ one month before the end of the current CJ's tenure, but he could not do so as he had to go to Italy to attend an international programme.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire, Deputy Speaker Rana Magar, and UML Chair KP Sharma Oli also raised the issue of delay in the appointment of parliamentary panels, including the Public Accounts Committee.

'Delay in the appointment of parliamentary panels has had an adverse impact. There are some issues on which the senior most lawmaker of the panel who is the chair of the panel, cannot take a call, Rana Magar said.

Lawyers have expressed their concern about non-compliance with the constitutional provision that requires the Constitutional Council to nominate the new CJ one month before the end of the incumbent CJ's tenure. Incumbent CJ Hari Krishna Karki worked as the Acting CJ for months as the Constitutional Council could not hold its meeting. Often, the competing interests of the ruling and opposition parties over the spoils of power lead to such problems.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 2, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.