Kathmandu, November 27

The Judicial Council has forwarded the names of two eligible Supreme Court justices for the post of chief justice to the constitutional council.

Chief Justice Om Prakash Mishra is retiring from January 2 next year on the ground of age, and the constitution provisions recommendation of eligible candidates for the post a month in advance.

The council has forwarded the names of justices Deepak Raj Joshee and Cholendra SJB Rana who meet the criteria of having served at least three years as Supreme Court justices, according to Judicial Council Spokesperson Rameshwor Regmi.

This is the second time the council has forwarded the name of Joshee for the top Supreme Court post.

Previously, the Parliamentary Hearing Committee had rejected Joshee’s nomination through voting process. The hearing committee had said Joshee failed to present a solid work plan and his vision for leading the judiciary.

The committee also said that Joshee had failed to give satisfactory answers to questions posed by lawmakers about his conduct, integrity and capability.

However, Joshee is still with the Supreme Court and he is the senior-most justice.

Judicial Council Spokesperson Regmi said that since Joshee met the criteria, the secretariat had forwarded his name.

“The secretariat’s work is to forward the names of eligible justices to the constitutional council, and that is what we did,” Judicial Council Spokesperson Regmi said. “It is up to the constitutional council to nominate the top judge,” Regmi added.