- SC stays Toran´s promotion for a week
- SC order fails to affect Toran
- Toran promotion stayed till next Sunday
- Toran´s promotion challenged in SC
Though Singh will continue to hold the post of lieutenant general, the court will give its final verdict in February. His promotion was dragged into controversy as he was promoted despite calls from human rights community to clear him of the charge through credible investigation before he assumed office. [break]
The National Human Rights Commission and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights-Nepal (OHCHR-N) have separately accused Singh for disappearances in the Bhairabnath Battalion from 2003 to 2004.
Justices Ram Prasad Shrestha and Tap Bahadur Magar decided to lift the stay order issued by Chief Justice Anup Raj Sharma on January 3 on two grounds.
First, the court said that it could not continue the stay order effective till Sunday because the decision on Singh´s promotion was implemented before the controversy. He was promoted on December 24 and he assumed office two days later. But the controversy over his promotion was brought before the court on December 27.
Second, the court, while vacating the stay-order, said that Singh was not charged with human rights violations before he was promoted.
The court invoked a precedent passed by a full bench that a stay order cannot be issued in cases when a defendant has already received an appointment letter.
It their order, Justice Ram Prasad Shrestha and Tap Bahadur Magar were silent on the reports of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nepal (OHCHR-N), accusing Singh of human rights violations in 2003.
Maoist leaders Krishna KC, Bina Magar and Himal Sharma had filed a writ petition against Singh´s promotion at the Supreme Court, asking the court to nullify the government decision.
kiran@myrepublica.com
Related story
Delayed promotion process costs DIG Pokharel his promotion!
