Such kind of decision will tempt the sitting justices to pass verdicts in favour of the executive
The government's decision to provide post-retirement benefits to Acting Chief Justice Deepak Kumar Karki on par with a retired chief justice has drawn flak from all walks of life, including the former justices, who had told the government to provide any kind of benefit to the retired justices only after formulating a law in this regard. Acting Chief Justice Karki is going to retire on October 2, after serving as the acting chief justice for six months since February 13, when 98 lawmakers belonging to the ruling coalition filed an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana, accusing him of denigrating the country's judicial system and hobnobbing with the executive for personal benefits. A cabinet meeting held on September 19 had decided to provide Karki the same retirement benefits a retired chief justice is entitled to should anyone serve in the capacity of an acting chief justice for at least six months. Although his name was not mentioned in the decision, it was aimed at providing the perks to Karki, who is said to have helped the ruling coalition come to power through the mandamus order, which installed Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba as the Prime Minister on July 12 last year.
Earlier, some Supreme Court justices, who were in the five-member constitutional bench that issued the mandamus order to the President to appoint Deuba as the prime minister without following the parliamentary processes, were also conferred with presidential medals for their role in the verdict. Both the decisions are a quid pro quo deal with the executive. One of the lawyers who also pleaded on behalf of the coalition partners was also given a ministerial berth though he is not a parliamentarian. As per the cabinet decision, Karki will be entitled to a personal security officer, one driver, one vehicle and monthly fuel expenditure of upto 100 litres.
PM Deuba, who has reached power for a record fifth time, should at least know what is right and wrong. However, the way he has been appeasing the Supreme Court justices through medals and personal benefits show that the mandamus order was issued in his favour after a tacit understanding was reached between the coalition and the justices, who were in the constitutional bench. Even the lawyers and constitutional experts, who were in favour of the coalition partners, have felt ashamed of themselves, and said that there was no distinction between the executive and the judiciary. This decision is also against the existing law that clearly states who should get what kind of benefits after a justice goes into retirement.
Such kind of executive decision will tempt the sitting justices to deliver verdicts in favour of the executive so that they can enjoy unlawful benefits after their retirement. The constitution has also barred the retired Supreme Court justices to hold any posts other than to lead an inquiry commission to be formed by the government or involve in active legal practice following their retirement to ensure their impartiality and independent posture while in office. It is also learnt that Acting Chief Justice Karki himself had sought post-retirement benefits on par with a retired chief justice for his role he played in the mandamus order that brought Deuba to power.
Say no to tobacco
The new team at the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has been busy since June trying to manage the capital's garbage and pulling down illegally-built structures in different parts of the city on a daily basis. Perhaps, it is because of this that the KMC has not had time to enforce the ban on the consumption of tobacco products in public places within the metropolis. The ban went into effect on September 17, and a fine of Rs 100 can be imposed on anyone violating the rule. However, the general public has not abided by the edict.
Strict enforcement of the rule and creating awareness would greatly help in stopping the consumption of tobacco products in public places. There was a time not too long ago when people smoked freely in public buses and in the cinema halls despite notices not to do so. But you see nothing of the sort today, largely because the people are aware of the rule. Let us give the KMC the benefit of the doubt that it will enforce the no-smoking rule sooner than later as well as schemes such as the segregation of waste into organic and non-organic ones at the household level to reduce the amount of garbage going to the landfill site.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 30, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
