PHSC members divided on hearing of JC member as per new constitution

KATHMANDU: A meeting of the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee (PHSC) held on Wednesday for the parliamentary hearing of a member of the Judicial Council (JC) ended inconclusively as the Committee members remained divided over the constitutional provision of the issue.

JC Secretary Dhruba Ghimire said that the meeting has been postponed until further notice.

Article 292 (2) of Nepal's Constitution, 2072 states that there shall be a parliamentary hearing prior to the appointment of the members of Judicial Council in a joint committee comprising the members of both the Houses of Federal Legislatures for their nomination.

Some members of the JC have argued that the special hearing should not be proceed under the existing circumstances while some other members have opined that the process should be moved ahead as per the clause 41 of the recently approved Rules of Procedures of the Legislature-Parliament.

The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has recommended legal practitioner Ramhari Sitaula as the CJ member and sent his name to the Legislature-Parliament on October 1 for the public hearing.