The Judicial Council has informed the commission investigating atrocities committed by the dissolved Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) against democratic leaders that it had not given permission to judge Shambhu Khadka to work as RCCC’s secretary.

The JC is headed by Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Poudel. “The JC wrote to us on Thursday, saying it had not given permission to Khadka to work as the RCCC’s secretary,” newspaper reports quoted a member of the Commission headed by former Appellate Court Judge Madhav Prasad Ojha as saying.

Before appointment in the RCCC, Khadka was working as a district court judge.

“We had urged the JC to furnish a copy of the decision taken by the JC on Khadka’s appointment to the RCCC. The 1990 Constitution does not allow any judge to take up administrative assignment,” the member added.

Khadka, currently working as a judge at the Dipayal Appellate Court, informed the commission on Thursday that he could not be present at the commission because he could not get an air ticket to fly to Kathmandu.

The commission also interrogated a former RCCC member, Shambhu Khanal.

Stating that he was not a judge, Khanal claimed he had decided cases as per the “decision of the then government.”

The commission summoned six persons including chairman of the RCCC Bhakta Bahadur Koirala and other members for interrogation.

The RCCC detained former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and former Minister Prakash Man Singh and interrogated leaders of political parties in the name of their involvement in misusing state fund.