Recommend new CJ, petitioner demands

Kathmandu, May 20

Advocate Santosh Bhandari today filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court, demanding that the new chief justice be recommended soon.

The petitioner had named Constitutional Council, Parliament Secretariat and the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers as defendants, among others.

The petitioner said that senior-most Justice of the SC Deepak Raj Joshee has been working as acting CJ since March 16, 2018 when Gopal Parajuli lost his job as the CJ. He said that as per the constitution, the CC was required to recommend a new CJ within a month after the incumbent CJ tendered his resignation.

He also said that the defendants who had to form Parliamentary Hearing Committee to conduct CJ hearing had not been formed yet due to non-enactment of Parliamentary Business Rules and they have thus not fulfilled their constitutional obligation.