Nepal Supreme Court Chief Justice faces conflicts within judiciary, refuses to step down
Nepal Chief Justice of Supreme Court Cholendra Shamsher Rana
Cholendra Shumsher Rana, Nepal's Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, is under criticism from inside the judiciary after being accused of making negotiations with political parties, particularly with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, to obtain a cabinet slot for his brother-in-law Gajendra Hamal.
In the wake of the recent issue involving Chief Justice Rana, fifteen Supreme Court judges met with him yesterday and requested him to resign.
Four former justices have also spoken out against Chief Justice Rana, raising concerns about his professional ethics.
Former Justices called for the House of Representatives to undertake an impartial investigation into all of the Chief Justice's controversies and to carry out its constitutional duty of impeaching him if he does not resign.
Chief Justice Rana courted a serious controversy recently for making deals with PM Deuba to secure a ministerial berth for his brother in law. Following the public outcry, Hamal resigned soon after being appointed as minister.
Prime Minister Deuba expanded his cabinet on October 8 to its full extent, and Hamal was one of the new inductions into the cabinet.
A fresh controversy surfaced in the legal fraternity after Rana expressed reluctance to implement a lottery system to allocate cases for hearing at the Supreme Court, though he had agreed to do the same in the past.
Chief Justice Rana has refused to resign and said he would rather face an impeachment motion.
The chief justice can be removed from office only through an impeachment motion, which should be passed by a two-thirds majority of the House of Representatives.
Breaking the silence on the ongoing issues, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Wednesday said that the court itself needs to seek a solution to end the ongoing deadlock, saying that he could not make any comments on issues related to the Supreme Court.
He said the ongoing issues will be settled after discussions are held with the ruling alliance.
Later in the evening, CJ Rana started the hearing of cases fixed on his single bench and issued orders on five cases today.
Meanwhile, the Nepal Bar Association has decided to boycott all hearings before the Supreme Court, unless Rana resigns.
