Kathmandu, Nepal, October 26, 2021: Nepal’s judiciary has been dragged into unprecedented controversies with the mounting pressure to resign to the Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana. The Supreme Court Justices and the Nepal Bar Association (NBA), the umbrella organization of lawyers across the country, have been exerting pressure to the Chief Justice Rana to resign.
13 Supreme Court justices boycotted the full court meeting called by Chief Justice Rana on Monday. Responding to the concerns raised by the NBA, Chief Justice Rana had called the full court meeting with the aim to find solution through the discussions.
As Supreme Court justices neither attend in the meeting nor sat for the hearing but remained busy on holding meetings to discuss the controversies surrounding Chief Justice Rana, hearings were entirely affected. It is said that a meeting of the 13 Supreme Court Justices have decided to hold a meeting with Chief Justice Rana on Tuesday.
Likewise, a meeting of the NBA held on Monday decided to hold a meeting with Rana on Tuesday as well. Likewise, a meeting of the Supreme Court Bar Association has also decided demand Chief Justice Rana’s resignation to save the dignity of the judiciary.
As Supreme Court Justices stayed away to find the solution through the discussions and Chief Justice Rana refuses to step down, the ongoing judicial deadlock would push the Nepal’s judiciary into unprecedented controversies.
The critics of the Chief Justice Rana have also been advocating for the impeachment motion in the parliament. However, political parties, regardless of ruling allies or opposition, have remained an uncanny silence towards the controversies leaving a clear sign that they would not bring impeachment motion against Chief Justice Rana.
Chief Justice Rana has now dragged into controversies on the alleged charge that he demanded share in the cabinet. Appointment of Nepali Congress leader Gajendra Hamal as state minister was taken as a share of the Chief Justice Rana in the cabinet as he is a relative of Chief Justice Rana. Though Hamal has already resigned from the post, the controversy has been remaining yet.
Rana was appointed as chief justice on January 2, 2019 after the Parliamentary Hearing Committee rejected Deepak Raj Joshi for post though he was senior most than Rana. Though the Judicial Council had recommended Jishi’s name as Chief Justice, the parliamentary committee had rejected his name even dragging him into controversies. Former Chief justice Gopal Prasad Parajuli was also ousted from the post following controversies over his date of birth and academic credentials.
