The Parliament as such has not been functioning smoothly due to the continuous disturbance created by the main opposition, the UML. Meanwhile, the country has already entered the local poll fray. It will be followed by the general election. It is likely that this parliament will find little time to debate on Rana's fate
The impeachment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Cholendra Shumsher Rana is again back in the national limelight after having been totally eclipsed by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for almost a month. The proposal for impeachment was tabled in the Parliament Secretariat on February 13 this year after having being signed by more than 25 per cent of the members of the Parliament as per clause 101 of the constitution.
After a month, on March 1, it was presented by parliamentarian Deb Gurung amidst protests by the UML, which have been going on since a long time now. The Bar Association had been protesting against the misdemeanours of the Chief Justice, firstly, for bench shopping or giving verdict to the benefit of the favourable party.
The other allegations consisted of anomalies, irregularities and corruption, and above all the reduction of the jail term of DIG Ranjan Koirala.
The Chief Justice had beenat the receiving end of the people's anger when he was found interfering during the reshuffle of the ministries by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. Gajendra Hamal resigned after he was alleged to have been appointed as minister following pressure imposed by his brother-inlaw Rana on the coalition government led by Deuba.
He has also been accused of seeking a share in the nomination of the constitutional posts as one of the members of the Constitutional Council.
This is unfortunate when the country had maintained the serenity of the justice system for a long time as exemplified by the regime of the Gorkha King Ram Shaha of the 17thcentury in view of the popular maxim 'nyaya napaye gorkha janu', meaning if justice unfound, be Gorkha bound. The justice system has, however, taken quite a biting by the rampant corruption over the years, and it reached an all-time low during the term of Rana.
A motion of impeachment can be moved against the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on the ground of performances that are not in consonance with the high position. Even in mythical times in Nepal's neighbourhood, celebrities had to undergo punitive actions when found to be indulging in unbecoming activities. Consequently, Vishnu, one of the trinity of the Hindu pantheon and the God of welfare as well as well-being, was punished to take the form of trivial entities like grass, a tree and stone in the form of kush, peepaland shaligram. It happened because he had sexual intercourse by duplicating himself as Jalandhar with his consort Brinda. He had to resort to this sinful act as the all-powerful Jalandhar could not be defeated in the war unless the chastity of his wife Brinda was destroyed. It was a kind of impeachment in mythic times.
Coming back to the modern era, the provision of impeachment of the constitutional heads was made in the constitution of the United States, which was enshrined in the year 1789. Accordingly, Chief Justice Samuel Chase was slated for impeachment in the year 1804. President Thomas Jefferson, a democratic republican had initiated for his impeachment after the President was openly criticised by the Chief Justice. Though the Chief Justice was impeached, he was not convicted despite Jefferson's party enjoying a majority in the House. It established the fact that the judicial decisions alone should not form a basis for the removal of judges from the bench.
Nearer home in southern neighbouring India, attempts at impeachments have been quite frequent, but none of them have succeeded.
Consequently, V Ramaswami J was the first judge to face such an ordeal in 1990,but he saved his face as the Lok Sabha failed to secure the required two-thirds majority.
The most recent one was the move of impeachment targeted against Dipak Mishra, the Chief Justice of India, in 2018. It was, however, rejected by Vekaiha Naidu, the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President.
Several High Court Justices have evaded this trap by resigning from their post.
In Nepal also, an impeachment motion against the first lady Chief Justice, Sushila Karki, was registered, accusing her of interfering with the jurisdiction of the executive and issuing prejudiced verdicts. There was, however, a huge public uproar.
Later, the Supreme Court withdrew the impeachment motion.
The Parliament has already formed an 11-member panel to carry out investigation against Rana following para 101 (4) of the constitution. The constitution provides that the panel elect a coordinator and make a working procedure by itself. It will prepare a report and submit it to the Parliament. The Parliament will debate for or against the impeachment based on the report and eventually vote. If two-third of the majority votes for the impeachment, the accused will lose the job.
What course of action is in store for Rana in the light of the aforementioned events? The Parliament as such has not been functioning smoothly due to the continuous disturbance created by the main opposition, the UML. The country has already entered the local election fray.
It will be followed by the provincial and the federal election. It is thus more likely that this parliament will find little time to debate on Rana's fate.
The other two options are either for Rana to resign or wait till his retirement around some time coming September when the impeachment motion will be null and void. Rana is a hard-headed person and is less likely to resign. That he challenged his removal through impeachment rather than tendering his resignation is testimony to this fact. So, like many impeachment motions tabled in the United States, India as well as Nepal in the past, this move also may be like a damp squib generating more smoke than fire. But several other allegations labeled against him will continue to haunt him even after the end of the impeachment episode.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 24, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
