By Our Reporter
In a dramatic political development, ruling political parties have registered an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana. With the registration of the information about the impeachment in the Parliamentary Secretariate on Sunday, the CJ has been suspended and senior-most Justice Deepak Karki has become acting Chief Justice.
Without giving any hint about their move, 98 lawmakers of the ruling coalition registered the impeachment motion in the Federal Parliament Secretariat against Chief Justice Rana according to Article 101 (2) of the Constitution.
The motion proposal was registered in the first office hour on Sunday, so many people came to know about it only after its registration. CJ Rana received the letter in the afternoon and left his office.
Chief Justice Rana has been labelled 21 allegations in the motion proposed by Whips of the ruling Nepali Congress, CPN-Maoist Centre and CPN-Unified Socialist–Pushpa Bhusal, Dev Gurung and Jeevan Ram Shrestha respectively.
The Chief Justice was dragged into controversy after he allegedly sought a share in the present Cabinet, and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had also appointed his brother-in-law Gajendra Hamal as a cabinet minister. But Hamal quit as his appointment dragged CJ Rana into controversy. However, CJ Rana continued facing criticism not only from the public and Nepal Bar Association but is also from the justices, who boycotted his bench. Nepal Bar was protesting against CJ Rana until his suspension on Sunday.
The Supreme Court was in controversy for six months, but the political parties which did take no action to end the stalemate for six months filed the impeachment motion just hours before the SC was to hear the case relating to Madhav Nepal-led CPN (Unified Socialist).
Again, the impeachment was registered when the political parties were sharply divided over the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the ruling coalition was likely to end over the issue.
However, the impeachment motion has brought the ruling parties together, and they may probably cooperate indirectly to pass the MCC.
Although the impeachment motion may not be endorsed in lack of a two-thirds majority, it has rid the SC of CJ Rana for the time being. Also, it is not known how long it will take the parliament to decide the impeachment. Even the UML whose leaders reacted to the move on Sunday has now overcome the emotion. The UML lawmakers who were threatening to impeach four other Justices who gave a verdict in favour of the restoration of the House in July have not registered it yet, probably fearing the fate of the President, because ruling parties could impeach the President and National Assembly chairman if the UML impeached four justices and the Speaker.
Anyway, the impeachment motion and the political developments of Sunday and Monday which were directed towards endorsing the MCC have given a new twist to national politics.
Impeachment proposal to affect the SC verdict against 14 Unified Socialist MPs
With the registration of an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana on Sunday, the 14 lawmakers of the CPN (Unified Socialist) have now become safe.
CJ Rana was suspended hours before he was to hear the case of the 14 lawmakers. The CPN-UML has been obstructing the House after Speaker Agni Sapkota did not suspend the 14 lawmakers who broke the CPN-UML. Later, the UML moved to the SC demanding that the 14 lawmakers be removed.
When Madhav Nepal and Pushpa Kamal Dahal smelt a rat in the move of the CJ, they forced Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to register the impeachment motion against Rana, probably in the condition that the two communist parties would support the passage of the Millennium Challenge Corporation from the parliament. Nepal and even PM Deuba were suspicious about CJ’s move and they feared the CJ would decide in favour of KP Oli.
Now with Rana’s suspension, the SC would give a verdict in favour of the CPN (Unified Socialist) or delay the verdict by a few months, because their term as lawmakers will expire in the next nine months.
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