Responding to a writ petition filed by UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is also a CC member, a full bench of SC Justices Top Bahadur Magar, Tahir Ali Ansari and Krishna Prasad Upadhyay scrapped the recommendations, pointing out that the CC failed to comply with due procedure while informing opposition leader Dahal about its proposed meeting and the meeting agenda before reaching the decision.[break]
Dahal, differing with the CC decision, had filed a writ petition at the SC, seeking nullification of the decision taken in his absence on April 23, 2010. In his writ petition, Dahal claimed that he was not informed in writing about the meeting and its agenda 48 hours beforehand as required by provisions of the CC Act.
“The bench concludes that the CC failed to dispatch a letter in the name of CC member and main opposition party leader Dahal 48 hours beforehand as per the CC Act," reads the verdict, adding, "Thus the decision taken by the CC in Dahal´s absence has been scrapped.”
The Constitutional Council (Functions, Duties, Powers and Procedures) Act-2066 stipulates that all CC members should be informed 48 hours beforehand about the agenda, venue and date of a CC meeting.
Dahal had claimed that he was only informed on April 22 about the meeting set for April 23 and learnt about the CC decision only through the media.
He had boycotted the meeting.
Earlier, a SC special bench had stayed the CC´s decision.
The CC meeting on April 23 had recommended Babu Ram Acharya for appointment as chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Neel Kantha Uprety as chief of the Election Commission, Udaya Nepali Shrestha as chief of the Public Service Commission and Bhanu Acharya as auditor general.
Likewise the CC had recommended Bisheshwar Man Shrestha, Drona Raj Regmee, Him Bahadur Gurung and Munilal Yadav for appointment as CIAA commissioners.
The CC also recommended Ram Sworup Sinha as member of the Public Service Commission. Likewise, Dr Bhola Shah and Bhushan Shrestha were recommended as members of the Election Commission.
In his writ petition, Dahal stated that the CC decision taken without his [main opposition] party´s approval violated constitutional and legal provisions.
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