"The chief justice is feeling rather uneasy following the concern expressed by former administrators," said a knowledgeable source, adding, "He wants PM Bhattarai to sort out the controversy from his level."[break]
According to the source, Regmee has been seriously mulling various options before attending the next meeting of the CC, which is expected to take place soon.
"He has long been a non-controversial personality with a clean image as someone of integrity, and he doesn´t want to be dragged into controversy over a matter rightly drawn attention to by the former bureaucrats," the source said, adding, "He is still indecisive but is seriously reviewing the situation regarding what steps it would be better to take before the next CC meeting."
Asked about his position, Chief Justice Regmee told Republica that he wants to see the controversy being resolved from the prime minister´s level. "I cannot comment on the matter right now. But, in his capacity of chairman of the Constitutional Council, it would be better if the prime minister settles the dispute from his own level at the earliest," he said.
Only recently, some former bureaucrats including former chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Surya Nath Upadhaya and former secretaries Bhoj Raj Pokharel and Rameshor Khanal as well as popular comedians Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya and civil society leader Dr Sameer Mani Dixit had submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, demanding the removal of Minister Gupta as CC member.
The source further said that Chief Justice Regmee has also realized that sitting together at a meeting with a person who is awaiting a final verdict at the Supreme Court (SC) wouldn´t be good for him. "He has become more serious about this," the source added.
The former bureaucrats had reminded PM Bhattarai that the chief justice and a person against whom a corruption case is pending at the Supreme Court (SC) cannot sit together at a meeting that appoints the chiefs and members of constitutional bodies. They had likewise pointed out to him that the decisions of the CC would not be constitutionally and politically valid if Gupta is not removed as CC member.
The SC has already fixed a date [a month from now] for passing a verdict on Gupta´s case. The CIAA had filed a graft case against Gupta, accusing him of amassing disproportionate amounts of property without legal sources of income.
Related story
130,000 UML cadres drop membership as party misses million-targ...
