Kathmandu, April 13
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has assured the Nepal Bar Association, the umbrella organisation of Nepali lawyers, that the chief justice appointment process would begin soon.
Receiving a memorandum from the association on Thursday, Dahal said the next House of Representatives meeting scheduled for Sunday would endorse the new House Regulations, thereby paving way for the formation of a new Parliamentary Hearing Committee, which will have to endorse the chief justice nominee from the Constitutional Council before the appointment.
Dahal said he would call a meeting of the council, headed by the prime minister, as soon as the hearing committee would be established, informs the association’s president Gopal Krishna Ghimire.
Since the impeachment position filed against former chief justice Cholendra Shamsher Rana in February 2022, the country’s judiciary is headless.
While Rana was suspended, Deepak Kumar Karki took over as the acting chief justice. But Rana could not resume his position as the House of Representatives could not complete the impeachment process. Karki then retired handing over the responsibility to Hari Krishna Karki.
With the new round of elections taking place in November 2022, there was an expectation that the chief justice appointment would happen soon. However, as the parties remained busy in power games, the issue has not been prioritised yet.
