KATHMANDU; Two complaints have been lodged in the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee (PHSC) against the nomination of Justice Ram Prasad Shrestha as the Chief Justice.

The complainants have accused Shrestha of being “biased and insensitive” while providing justice, while he was in the

Appellate Court and the Supreme Court. They urged the parliamentary committee to “block” him from holding the prestigious Chief Justice post.

“The complaints will be produced in a committee meeting and members

will seek explanations

from the CJ nominee on the allegations,” Dhruba Prasad Ghimire, Secretary of the PHSC, told The

Himalayan Times today. The complainants claimed that Shrestha issued judgments that were against the existing Acts and

overlooked the constitutional provisions.

The PHSC has called for a “public response” if they have anything to say against the nomination of Shrestha as the CJ. According to Ghimire, while one complainant has accused Shrestha of being biased another has charged him with being insensitive while providing justice.

According to the secretary, one of the complainants claimed that Shrestha did not uphold fundamental rights while deciding on a case related to the complainant’s admission for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) studies.

“He could not deliver justice to me as he went against the fundamental rights ensured by the Constitution,” the complainant said. The PHSC, however, did not reveal the names of the complainants as per their request.

On March 16, the Constitutional Council (CC) headed by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal recommended Shrestha to the post of the Chief Justice.

Ghimire added that a hearing will take place on Thursday as incumbent Chief Justice Anup Raj Sharma is retiring on March 25.

Shrestha joined the bureaucracy in 1970 as section officer under the ministry of general administration, but changed the service in 1975 and shifted to judicial service. Shrestha, however, has already vowed that he would fight for judicial integrity.