All chief justices after 1990 are taking more facilities than they are entitled by the law. All chief justices from Biswonath Upadhyaya to the recently retired Mohan Prasad Sharma, who is to be retired in a couple of days time, are taking the vehicle facility against the law.

According to reports, chief justice Sharma is using three more cars in addition to one official Mercedes Benz. According to the regulation any chief justice is entitled to only one vehicle.

Similarly, former chief justice and the chairman of the constitution reforms committee, which made the present constitution, Biswonath Upadhyaya is still using the vehicular facility of that of the incumbent justices of the Supreme Court. He is using a Toyota Corolla, with private registration number. The car is being privided by the government along with a driver. In this regard advocate  Bharat Raj Uprety says this is against the concept of an independent judiciary. He says, the government has not forgotten his favour to the government on the decision of Bhadra 12, 2052. That day the Supreme Court had decided with a split vote to uphold former Prime Minister  Girija Prasad Koirala’s recommendation for a mid-term poll.

Likewise, Surendra Prasad Singh, who succeeded Upadhyaya is still using a Maruti car with the government registration number. Singh had retired almost three years ago, on Falgun 3, 2053.

The other two chief justices, Trilok Pratap Rana and Om Bhakta Shrestha, are also still using government vehicles.

According to the regulation, the chief justices should return the official vehicles by the 7th day of their retirement.

Again, it is not only the judges of the Supreme Court, former registrar of the Supreme Court and presently the chief commissioner of the Commission for Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Madhav Dutta Bhatta has still not returned a motorcycle he has taken from the Supreme Court when he was the registrar. This is even mentioned the annual report of the Commission itself.

Likewise, the acting registrar of the Supreme Court Nirmal Kumar Dhungana has taken a RX 100 motorcycle, in addition to an official car. Likewise former registrar of the highest court, Badri Kumar Basnet is still using a Kawasaki Bajaj outside the official facility he is entitled. He is currently the judge of the Appellate Court in Baglung.

Meanwhile, the registrar’s office of the Supreme Court has written to those who are still using the official vehicles contrary to the regulation. Spokesman of the Supreme Court Kashi Raj Dahal says some vehicles now been returned, and they are pursuing for the others.

(Nepal Samacharpatra, December 12, Sunday)