Kathmandu, October 10:

The government today told the Supreme Court it had decided to transfer the then chief secretary of the royal government, Lokman Singh Karki, to the National Planning Commission as he was not fit for the job in a changed political context. It also said there was no need for the apex court to intervene in the matter and reinstate him as the chief secretary of a democratic government. “Since he failed to perform his duty impartially as the chief secretary,

the government had no reason to believe that he would be able to work neutrally and maintain secrecy in the changed political context,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Cabinet said.

“The government does not believe he can work neutrally and maintain secrecy,” the PMO and the Cabinet told the Supreme Court in a written affidavit signed by the secretary of the PMO, Madhav Paudel. The apex court one month ago had told the PMO and the Cabinet to clarify as to why Karki was transferred to the NPC as its special officer. Challenging the posting, Karki had moved the apex court.

“He is not fit for the job as he had suppressed the Jana Andolan-II, and was suspended for three months as per the recommendation of the High-Level Investigation Commission headed by former SC Justice Krishna Jung Rayamajhi,” the PMO clarified. “As he backed the royal regime and failed to work as the professional chief of the public servant, the government suspended him as per clause 64 of the Civil Service Act 1992,” the affidavit states.