According to a knowledgeable Supreme Court (SC) source, of the total five JC members, three have been pressing for action against the judges while two others are against it.[break]
Chief Justice and Chairman of JC Ram Prasad Shrestha, Justice Kheel Raj Regmee and JC member Basudev Dhungana are in favor of taking action against SC Justice Rana Bahadur Bam and two other judges while Law Minister Prem Bahadur Singh and JC member Motikaji Staphit are against it, the source added.
A probe committee headed by SC Justice Bal Ram KC had submitted a report to the JC accusing Justice Bam and appellate court judges Hari Bahadur Basnet and Tej Bahadur Karki of “dishonesty” while issuing orders to release Sanjay Shrestha, Rohit Paliwan Agrawal and Bhimsen Pandit who were accused of several counts of murder, kidnapping and arms possession.
“Law Minister Singh has already expressed dissatisfaction over committee´s report stating that the committee does not have the authority to recommend action against the judges,” said the source, adding, “JC member Staphit is also of the same view.”
Talking to Republica on Wednesday, Minister Singh had said that the JC cannot recommend parliament to impeach Justice Bam as the report itself is biased.
Chief Justice Shrestha, however, has been trying his best to convince other JC members to take action against the indicted judges, the source said.
Meanwhile, judges from various parts of the country have criticized CJ Shrestha for not allowing Bam to handle cases. “Who gave you the right to deny cases to Justice Bam? Why didn´t you wait for a formal decision of JC before taking such an action?” the judges have questioned CJ, according to the source.
Despite CJ´s directive, Justice Bam, however, has been attending SC.
Another knowledgeable source told Republica that Minister Singh has already informed Chief Justice Shrestha and other JC members about his stance on the report.
“I am personally not convinced by the committee´s findings. The committee has overstepped its jurisdiction while preparing the report. Hence it is not acceptable to me. In my opinion the JC cannot recommend parliament to impeach Justice Bam as the report is biased,” the source quoted minister Singh as saying other JC members on Wednesday.
KC led Committee had concluded that the division bench of Justices Bam and Basnet, the former in his capacity as the chief judge of Patan Appellate Court, had released the three accused on a low bail of Rs 100,000, overruling the order of the Kathmandu District Court that had sentenced them to three years in prison and slapped a fine of Rs 22,000 each.
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