Kathmandu, January 17:

Satisfied with the nominees’ answers, the parliamentary hearing committee today approved the Judicial Council’s nominations for the posts of Supreme Court justices.

After the hearing, the parliamentary committee accepted all the nine nominees for the post of SC judges — Krishna Prasad Upadhyaya and Prem Sharma for permanent postings and seven others as ad hoc judges.

“Though a few members initially raised questions about the nomination of a few contenders, we approved the nominations unanimously,” Kul Bahadur Gurung, chair of the parliamentary hearing committee, told The Himalayan Times.

The parliamentary committee will forward the decision to the Judicial Council tomorrow for the appointment of the new justices. As per the Interim Constitution of Nepal (2007), Chief Justice Kedar Prasad Giri will appoint the judges.

The committee today sought explanations from four contenders — Rana Bahadur Bam, Sushila Karki, Prakash Chandra Sharma Osti and Bharat Raj Uprety — and recorded their statements.

Five other nominees — Krishna Prasad Upadhyaya, Prem Sharma, Mohan Prakash Sitaula, Abdhesh Kumar Yadav and Girish Chandra Lal — had provided their statements yesterday.

During today’s hearing, the prospective judges agreed that the judiciary had failed to provide justice on time. They also said that they would take initiatives to control such wrong tendencies and bring reforms in the judiciary.

The CA members sought judge Bam’s explanation over his alleged controversial decisions in the past and recorded the mission, vision and goals of the contenders.

In reply, Bam said that the parliamentary hearing was not essential for the appointment of judges. He added that since he was quizzed for the post of ad hoc apex court judge, he would have to face an impractical hearing for a permanent posting.

Another contender Bharat Raj Upreti said it would be meaningless if the parliamentary hearing could not reject the nominations if it finds the nominees’ explanations unsatisfactory.

“Hearing exists in many countries for a check and balance, but a powerless committee keeps no meaning,” Upreti added. “The current legal system is more concerned about the facilities for the judges and lawyers, rather than justice delivery. The state should adopt policies that focus on people-centric justice system.”

Two other contenders — Sushila Karki and Prakash Osti — however, welcomed the parliamentary hearing as it would make the judges accountable to the people.

Senior advocate Ravindra Chakraworti had rejected the offer.