Case against Karki holds no ground, say his lawyers

Kathmandu, December 23

Lawyers representing suspended chief of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Lokman Singh Karki today reiterated that there was no legal ground for the Supreme Court to revive the case against him.

Senior Advocate Bal Krishna Neupane and Advocate Madhav Kumar Basnet pleaded on behalf of Karki in the full bench of justices Ishwar Khatiwada, Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Anil Kumar Sinha today. The hearing will continue on January 5.

A case, Neupane argued, could be reviewed only when new evidences emerged or if the previous judgment of the court went against its own precedents. He said the SC’s decision to revive the case lacked legal ground and hence there was no need for entering into the merits of the case.

Neupane said the precedents cited by petitioner Om Prakash Aryal were not relevant in the case. He argued that Karki could not be disqualified from holding the post of CIAA chief on grounds of his name surfacing in the Raymajhi Commission’s report.

Neupane also cited the Supreme Court precedents to argue that indictment by a probe commission could adversely impact a person’s chance of holding a public post only if such an indictment was tested by a judicial body or the court, which was not the case in Karki’s context.

He said a new law enacted before the first Constituent Assembly elections to bar people whose name had surfaced in the Raymajhi commission was also declared ultra vires by the court.

On the question of Karki’s eligibility, Neupane said he had the academic qualification and experience to meet requirement for the post of CIAA chief.

On the question of ‘distinguished person’ as stated in Article 119 (5) of the Interim Constitution under which Karki was appointed chief of the anti-graft body, Neupane said the issue was a matter of subjective interpretation and no law defined the term.

Neupane also said that Karki should not be held responsible for the court official’s inability to serve a summons at his residence. Neupane said the court summons should have been served at the CIAA office in Tangal, where Karki had been serving.

Earlier, Neupane had urged the court to postpone the hearing till the report on attack on Karki yesterday was submitted to the court.

The full bench is hearing five cases filed against Karki.

Neupane said the court should be mindful of the fact that ‘justice hurried is justice buried’. He said media reports on the case had chances of adversely impacting a sub judice case.

Advocate Madhav Kumar Basnet said Karki was not only under judicial trial but also under media trial. Basnet gave a copy of news report to the bench arguing that in the news report the petitioner stated that he was tempted to file a review petition after getting a call from a court official.

He said a national policy unveiled 40 years ago stated that the employees of Rajprasad Sewa covered everything and hence Karki who had served under Rajprasad Sewa before entering civil service met the qualification stated in Article 119 (5) of the constitution.

Other senior advocates Badri Bahadur Karki, Mahadev Yadav and Sushil Panta will also plead on Karki’s behalf.

Men who smeared suspended CIAA chief with soot get seven days in custody

Kathmandu, December 23

The Kathmandu District Administration Office today remanded two men, who smeared suspended chief of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Lokman Singh Karki’s face with soot, to seven days in police custody.

Police have filed a case against Prakash Shahi and Chandra Bahadur Budha, central members of Netra Bikram Chand-led CPN Maoist, at the District Administration Office under the Some Public (Crime and Punishment) Act, 1970.

The duo had smeared Karki’s face with soot while the latter was sitting in a room in the Supreme Court where he was to sign the slip of court appearance date yesterday. They were arrested on the spot.

The Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu confirmed that the two were remanded on the order of the DAO.

A police official said the incident showed poor security arrangements on the court premises and said the law enforcement agency was trying strengthen the judicial cops.

In a case tried under the aforementioned Act, the chief district officer may impose a fine of up to Rs 10,000 and issue an order of detention to keep the offender in a custody for a period not

exceeding 35 days depending the the gravity of crime. If the CDO finds reasons to send the offenders to jail deeming that the penalty of a fine is not adequate, he/she may refer the case to the Court of Appeal seeking up to two years in jail for the accused.

Karki allowed to appoint attorney

KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court’s full bench comprising justices Ishwar Khatiwada, Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Anil Kumar Sinha on Friday gave permission to suspended chief of CIAA Lokman Singh Karki and former law secretary Pramod Karki to appoint their attorneys to represent them on the case field against them for allegedly obstructing court officials from serving court summons at Karki’s residence.

Justice Ishwar Khatiwada announced the court’s verdict.

‘Release arrested youths’

KATHMANDU: Suspended CIAA chief Lokman Singh Karki on Friday appealed that those who misbehaved with him on the court premises be released without prosecution.

In an appeal issued on his Facebook page, Karki said the abusers were innocent. “Real culprits have been working off-stage and those who were sent to police custody only executed the task assigned to them,” read the appeal.

“As those who have been hatching conspiracies against me for last few months are unlikely to be brought to the book, so I request the security agency to release the two youths,” it added.

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