Kathmandu, February 20

A writ petition was filed today at the Supreme Court against appointment of Dipendra Jha as chief attorney of Province 2.

Advocates Madhur Pathak and Dilli Prasad Neupane filed the writ making the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, Secretariat of the Chief Minister, Office of the Governor of Province 2 and Jha the defendants.

As per the constitutional provision, Jha does not meet the eligibility criteria to be chief attorney, claimed the petitioners in the writ. Article 160 (3) of the constitution states that a person who is qualified to be appointed as a judge of the High Court shall be eligible for appointment as chief attorney.

Article 140 (2) of the constitution states that any citizen of Nepal who has obtained a bachelor’s degree in law and served as judge of a District Court for at least five years or who has obtained a bachelor’s degree in law and consistently practised law as a senior advocate or advocate for at least ten years or who has consistently been engaged in teaching or research of law or in any other field related to law or justice for at least ten years or who has served in the post of at least gazetted first class of the Judicial Service for at least five years shall be deemed qualified for appointment as chief judge or a judge of the High Court.

Governor Ratneshwar Lal Kayastha had appointed Jha as chief attorney of Province 2 on the recommendation of Chief Minister Lal Babu Raut on Saturday.