KATHMANDU, APRIL 30
Nepal Bar Association staged a sit-in on the premises of the Supreme Court today demanding immediate appointment of chief justice.
All the chapters of NBA protested for an hour demanding end to ad-hocism in the judiciary and immediate appointment of the CJ.
NBA General Secretary Anjita Khanal told THT that they chose to agitate as their demands were ignored. "We met the prime minister and speaker and urged them to appoint the CJ. The PM assured us that he would make all efforts to appoint the CJ as soon as possible. We do not know why the CJ could not be appointed," Khanal said and added that if their demands were not met within a week, the NBA would sit again and decide on its next course of action.
The NBA had protested against then CJ Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana for 115 days, the longest agitation so far.
The judiciary has remained headless for almost 14 months now. Senior most Justice Hari Krishna Karki has been the acting CJ from September when then acting CJ Deepak Kumar Karki retired from service. Acting CJ Karki will also retire from Service in August.
Differences between the ruling parties and the main opposition CPN-UML over House committees, Constitutional Council Bill and Truth and Reconciliation Bill are the main reasons behind the delay in appointment of the CJ.
CPN-MC and UML have blamed each other for delay in the appointment of the CJ. Senior UML leader Subas Chandra Nembang told THT that the ruling parties' failure to form the PHC had led to the breakdown of the process as the CJ could not be appointed without the PHC.
CPN-MC Chief Whip Hitraj Pandey, however, blamed the UML for delay in the appointment of the CJ. "We had agreed to pass the Constitutional Council Bill through fast-track process but the main opposition party backtracked on its pledge," Pandey added.
On April 24, the big three parties - the Nepali Congress, CPN-Maoist Centre and CPN- UML had announced they had reached understanding on forming the thematic committees of the House of Representatives and fast-tracking the Constitutional Council Bill. But the big three parties could not stick to their understanding. It is because of their differences that the House could not pass the Constitutional Council Bill through the fast-track process. Not only that, the HoR also failed to form the Parliamentary Hearing Committee that confirms or rejects the CJ nominee or other candidates nominated by the Constitutional Council. Senior Advocate Shambhu Thapa said that delay in the appointment of the CJ had undermined the independence of the judiciary.
He said the Judicial Council Act provisioned for SC Justices in the place of those Justices who retired from service on age ground, and this provision was violated in this case.
"If legal and constitutional provisions are allowed to be violated, this can lead to derailing of the constitution. Today, one provision is violated on one pretext, tomorrow another provision will be violated on other pretexts," he said and added that political parties and leaders were sowing anarchy by not appointing the CJ on time. "If we do not need the CJ for months, then why should we keep the post of CJ?" Thapa wondered.
Advocate Dipendra Jha said the major political parties had made the CJ appointment a bargaining chip, thereby delaying the appointment. "Parties' unwillingness to appoint the CJ is also a reflection of Acting CJ Karki's decision to recuse himself from the House of Representatives dissolution case. Delay in the appointment of CJ undermines the independence of the judiciary," Jha added.
A version of this article appears in the print on May 1, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
