By Our Reporter
The Supreme Court has been without Chief Justice since February 13, 2022, after the then CJ Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana was automatically suspended following the registration of an impeachment motion in the House of Representatives.
After Rana’s suspension, Deepak Kumar Karki became acting Chief Justice and got retirement as acting Chief Justice on October 2, 2022.
After Karki’s retirement, Hari Krishna Karki has been serving as acting Chief Justice. He is also retiring in September.
The government has been unable to appoint chief justice in the lack of the required Act. Recently, the government has tabled Constitutional Council (Works, Duties, Rights and Procedures) First Amendment Bill-2079 in the House of Representatives to fill up the void. Because, it is the Constitutional Council which is responsible for appointing officials in the constitutional bodies including the Supreme Court, and the Council has not been constituted in lack of the law. Even a Justice recommended for appointment in the SC by the government in September last year has not been appointed in lack of the law as well as the Parliament Hearing Committee. The parliament has not constituted any committee even five months after the general elections as parties have engaged in forming and pulling down the governments.
But by considering the structure of the House and the increasing enmity between the ruling parties and the main opposition UML, it may take time to pass the bill. Again, the Speaker elected from the CPN-UML can delay in endorsing the bill. Thus, it is likely that acting CJ Karki may also retire without becoming a confirmed chief justice.
It is like a joke that the Supreme Court in a democracy is without chief justice, but Nepal’s judiciary has been functioning without a chief justice for over 13 months. The incompetency of the party leaders who resort to unethical political activities should be blamed. They registered an impeachment motion against CJ Cholenda but did not discuss the motion and did not conclude it. Rana retired without having justice. Even four months after the formation of the new House, they did nothing to table and pass a bill to appoint a new chief justice. The winter session of the House remained without business for weeks, but only this week the government tabled the bill on Constitutional Council. Still, it is not certain how long it will take to endorse the bill.
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