CJ does an about-turn on House revival plea

Ananta Raj Luitel

Kathmandu, January 20:

In the face of intense criticism over his remarks on the House dissolution case, Chief Justice Hari Prasad Sharma today said he would discuss with his colleagues how to end the pending review plea on the court ruling that upheld the dissolution of the House of Representatives.

Sharma made this remark during a meeting with the representatives of the Nepal Bar Association (NBA) in the latter’s chamber at the apex court. “I will act as per the suggestion of other justices over how to end the issue logically,” general secretary of NBA Madhav Banskota quoted the CJ as saying.

The Chief Justice, however, said the plea has been pending for two years due to an internal policy of the Supreme Court. According to another lawyer who participated in the meeting, Sharma said the apex court is working as per the Rules and Regulations and its own policies so it cannot select just the House revival plea for priority hearing. “We cannot give emphasis to the plea when there are many petitions seeking review of verdicts on several issues,” Sharma added.

Taking about his recent remark on political issues, Sharma said his remark was distorted by the newspapers. He, however, did not say whether he would form a bench to hear the pending plea .