CJ tight-lipped on CC recommendation

December 1, 2003
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POST REPORT

KATHMANDU, Dec 1 – Chief Justice Kedar Nath Upadhyaya today declined to comment on the recent recommendation made by the Constitutional Council (CC) for the vacant post of the Chief Election Commissioner until the appointment process would be over.

He also said the Supreme Court would welcome any public litigation petition filed at the apex court questioning the constitutionality of the CC’s recommendation once the appointment was made.”The Chief Justice told us that he cannot comment on the CC recommendation since the process of appointment to the post as submitted by the CC is underway,” Sindhu Nath Pyakurel, chairman of Nepal Bar Association (NBA) said, quoting the Chief Justice as saying.

Pyakurel was talking to journalists at the Supreme Court premises after a NBA delegation met with the Chief Justice today.

A five-member delegation of lawyers led by Pyakurel today called on the Chief Justice in his office, as decided by a meeting of the executive committee of the Bar Association and senior advocates on Friday, to inquire about the truth behind the recent controversial recommendation made by the Constitutional Council.

The CC headed by the Prime Minister last week recommended three names to the King to fill up the single vacant post of the Chief Election Commissioner, revising its earlier recommendation of a name for the post.

The latter recommendation has generated criticism from political, legal and intellectual circles, labelling the move as “unconstitutional”.

The lawyers had asked the Chief Justice about the recommendation of three names as reported in the media.

“I will not comment on whether one, three or seven names were recommended. The Court will deal constitutionally if anyone comes with a public litigation application questioning the recommendation once the appointment process ends,” Baburaja Joshi, one of the members of the delegation, quoted the Chief Justice as saying. He was talking to journalists after the nearly half-an-hour-long meeting with the Chief Justice.

Meanwhile, NBA chairman Pyakurel said that the Bar would be calling an extended meeting soon to discuss the remarks made by the Chief Justice regarding the recommendation.

“We will discuss whatever the Chief Justice told us during an extended meeting of the Bar and let the media know of our position on the recommendation issue,” Pyakurel told journalists while replying to a question on the next step of the Bar on the controversial recommendation.