Culture of vendetta exists right across the board in all government offices and institutions, including the judiciary

Senior-most Justice of the Supreme Court Deepak Raj Joshee has resigned from his post, but not without taking offence at the way he was treated in his final days. Incumbent Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana, after taking the reins of the apex court from the beginning of January this year, refused to assign Supreme Court benches to Joshee, leaving the latter with just two options: either to quit or attend court but not work. The power to assign cases lies solely with the CJ, who had explicitly called on Joshee to leave the court for good. Barring an impeachment by the federal Parliament, Joshee had till October before resigning on age grounds. However, rather than face the continued humiliation meted out to him, Joshee decided to quit on Tuesday. Joshee was among the two nominees for the post of CJ forwarded to the Constitutional Council headed by the Prime Minister. But as his name had already been rejected by the Parliamentary Hearing Committee (PHC) in August last year through a two-thirds majority vote because of his poor track record, the committee did not entertain it this time. Joshee is the first CJ nominee to be rejected by the PHC.

In his resignation letter forwarded to the President through the Supreme Court, Joshee said that he faced difficulties in shouldering the responsibilities placed on him by law. He said he was first deprived of the opportunity to decide cases and later of his very chamber in the Supreme Court. He was also not called for the Judicial Council meetings of late although he was an ex-officio member of the council as the senior-most justice. The council had failed to meet for months as the law minister had shown reluctance to attend any meeting in which Joshee was present. Newly-appointed CJ Rana also did not extend an invitation to Joshee to attend the oath-taking ceremony or interaction with the media soon after, in which all other justices were present. Following his rejection by the PHC, some lawmakers from the Nepal Communist Party had demanded that he resign on moral grounds. But he had argued that he was legally able and eligible to work as a justice of the Supreme Court.

Joshee would not have been hounded out of his post were it not for some of the controversial verdicts given by him on cases related to big business. Even after being rejected for the post of CJ in August last year, he had continued to work as a justice. And in December, Joshee passed an interim order that allowed businessman Ajeya Sumargi to withdraw millions of rupees parked in a bank. The order was overturned later by a division bench of CJ Rana and Justice Ananda Mohan Bhattarai, but the damage had already been done. But a graceful exit for Joshee would have been more desirable. Rather than humiliate the senior-most Justice, it would have been better to fire him through the parliamentary process. What the disgraceful exit will do is give rise to pent-up feelings or frustrations, which could be used at some time in the future to hit back at a person or institution. The culture of vendetta exists right across the board in all government offices and institutions. Secretaries in the ministries are transferred to other ministries for having fallen out with ministers. When such a habit of intolerance gets institutionalised, it does not augur well for the growth of any institution.

For more reforms

The authorities at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) have relented to the public outrage, allowing passengers to take trolleys to ferry their luggage up to the taxi bay, located around 200 metres away from the international arrival terminal. Before the TIA revisited its decision on Tuesday, the passengers had no option other than to lift the heavy luggage on their head or back, and the physically weak people had to hire someone to take their goods up to the bay. It had caused great inconvenience to the passengers who already were tired after staying in the air for several hours.

Taxi bays should be located close to the arrival terminal. It is not possible for the passengers to be using the trolleys to carry luggage over long distances. The authorities concerned should keep in mind that they are there to serve the people as much as possible. An international airport should also give a positive impression that the authorities are ever ready to provide whatever services they have at their disposal. A simple reform made at a certain place will leave a lasting impression on the people’s mind.