Acting CJ Mishra allocates task

KATHMANDU, Aug 5: After

the parliamentary hearing committee (PHC) rejected Deepak Raj Joshi to

be the Chief Justice, Acting Chief Justice, as the

senior-most Justice at Supreme Court, Om Prakash Mishra, allocated the

task to other Supreme Court Justices today.

Joshi took leave after he was rejected by PHC. So, Acting CJ Mishra

allocated the responsibilities to other Justices, said Joint

Spokesperson at SC, Nagendra Kalakheti.

No constitutional crisis

Meanwhile, to the unfolding situation in the judiciary, some legal

practitioners have doubted the constitutional normality while some

argued it would not create any problem.

The umbrella organization of legal practitioners Nepal Bar Association

had mentioned in a press release on Friday that rejecting Joshi as CJ

was a blatant interference of PHC on judiciary.

However, former Attorney General and senior advocate Raman Shrestha

ruled out the possibility of a constitutional crisis because PHC is the

final body to take decision after the recommendation of the

Constitutional Council. "There are a lot of other such examples

in the world. Even Sri Lanka had rendered a judge disqualified to be

CJ," he reminded.

He further argued that after PHC rejection, the rejected one would face moral crisis to deliver justice.

Senior advocate Dr. Chandra Kanta Gyawali also reiterated that Joshi's

rejection would not invite constitutional crisis at all. There is a

constitutional provision that one among Om Prakash Mishra and Cholendra

Shumsher Rana would be recommended by Constitutional

Council to the PHC again.

Although it is the first such case in Nepal, the US has so far

disqualified three from becoming CJ and nine from Justices through

voting.

Gyawali reminded that although constitutional expert and drafter of the

US constitution John Rutledge was recommended for CJ by then President

George Washington in 1795, he was rejected by the Senate. (RSS)