KATHMANDU – Chief Justice Cholendra Shumser JB Rana has said it is not the right of legal practitioner(s) to decide the appointment of judge in the hearing of the writ petitions relating to the dissolution of the House of Representatives (HoR).
He has urged advocate who has registered a writ claiming that 11 judges of the Supreme Court could not be part of the hearing the HoR-related cases to withdraw the petition. The Chief Justice has also warned that the petitioner would face action on the contempt of court charge if the writ was not taken back.
It may be noted that advocate Rajaram Ghimire has submitted an application claiming that 11 judges including those involved in the Constitutional Bench formed on the basis of seniority could not take part in hearing the cases relating to the May 22 dissolution of the HoR. Ghimire argued that judges appointed during the terms of former CJ Kalyan Shrestha and Sushila Karki could not be included in the Bench .
Attorney General Ramesh Badal has also expressed his concern over the Constitutional Bench formed today by the Chief Justice. Once the hearing convened, he questioned the ground to remove two judges from the Bench and the reappointment of two who voluntarily left the Bench earlier.
Question has raised again over the Bench formed for hearing the cases relating to the HoR dissolution and the formation of the government in accordance with the Article 76 (5) of the constitution .
The Constitutional Bench chaired by CJ Rana consists of senior- most judge Deepak Kumar Karki and justice Meera Khadka, Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada and Dr Anand Mohan Bhattarai. Though Hari Krishna Karki is the third senior-most judge in the SC, he is not in the Bench after his role in the Bench was questioned for being as the former Attorney General.
