Secretary General Gautam must have given Chief Justice Rana the clean chit based on the Parliamentary Rules
Secretary General of the Parliament Secretariat, Bharat Raj Gautam, shook the entire political sphere, parliament and judiciary by acquitting suspended Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Cholendra Shumsher Rana of the unconcluded impeachment motion on Wednesday. Leaders of the ruling coalition, the Supreme Court itself and constitutional experts have termed Gautam's decision to write a letter stating that CJ Rana's suspension, which came into force on February 13, "was no longer valid" since the election for the new House of Representatives (HoR) had already been completed "unconstitutional".
In his letter informing the President's Office, Prime Minister's Office, Constitutional Council and the Supreme Court, Gautam has stated that Rana should be allowed to work as the CJ, whose tenure is going to expire on December 13, due to his age. CJ Rana had filed a petition at the Parliament Secretariat on Tuesday, stating that he should be given a clean chit as the impeachment motion filed against him on February13 by the previous HoR had been rendered invalid because of fresh election of the HoR. As per the constitutional provision, any impeachment motion should be settled within three months from the date of filing the motion. However, the previous HoR could not conclude the motion even until the last day of the previous HoR.
However, leaders of the ruling coalition have argued that the impeachment motion would remain valid even in the new HoR, which will be called once all the election results are submitted to the President. By the time the first meeting of the new HoR commences, suspended CJ Rana would already have gone into retirement. It would be meaningless to discuss the impeachment motion when the person accused of wrongdoing is no longer in office. In the meantime, the SC administration wrote a letter to the Parliament Secretariat asking whether or not the action(s) on the report submitted by the Impeachment Recommendation Committee is still valid, whether it will be presented in the new HoR and from which date the impeachment motion would be rendered void. And, the Supreme Court has also asked on what ground Gautam concluded that the impeachment motion was void or "ineffective".
Even though Gautam's action has drawn widespread criticism from the ruling coalition leaders and legal experts, what is clear is that an impeachment motion or a bill cannot be automatically reassigned to the new HoR for further discussion, as per the Parliamentary Rules. How can the parties in power discuss the impeachment motion in the next HoR against an already retired CJ? The Secretary General must have given Rana the clean chit based on the very Parliamentary Rules. Otherwise, how could an official at the Parliament Secretariat write such a highly sensational letter by giving a clean chit to CJ Rana, who has remained suspended for the last nine months? On the other hand, those who have argued that the impeachment motion is still valid and can be discussed in the next HoR should legally prove that a person can also be impeached even after his/her retirement from office. Then, what will the political parties, who will form the next government as per the fresh mandate, do regarding this impeachment motion when its intent will be redundant by then?
Junk vehicles
Unused government vehicles lying as junk on the premises of Singha Durbar are an eyesore, and it is good to learn that a process has been initiated to disposing them of. There are said to be more than 300 dysfunctional cars, vans and jeeps on the premises as well as worn-out furniture and other equipment. As per the rules, vehicles and goods that are more than 12 years old or whose repairs cost more than 25 per cent of the market value of such goods may be auctioned off. However, nothing has been done to clear the old vehicles and goods despite an order from the Supreme Court in 2020 to submit an action plan for their management.
All these vehicles, furniture and goods cost money and are bought from the taxes paid by the common people. It is thus desired that they serve a long life and are well maintained, given that they need to be imported by spending scarce foreign exchange. The tendency among the officials to purchase a new vehicle with every transfer and replace the existing furniture and office logistics with new ones, citing they are 'old, dysfunctional and non-operational' even when they are in good condition, needs to stop. This will save the government a lot of money.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 9, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
