KATHMANDU, April 17: Out of the total five complaints registered at the Parliamentary Hearings Committee (PHC), two complaints have questioned the criteria and selection process of justices recommended by the Judicial Council instead of questioning the recommended individuals.

Senior advocate Shambhu Thapa and two other individuals have asked the hearings committee to seek details of the selection process and the criteria under which the JC recommended names for the posts of Supreme Court justices.

PHC on Tuesday opened the five complaints filed against the Supreme Court justice nominees. The PHC has decided to summon those who filed the complaints for detailed presentation on Wednesday and justice nominees on Thursday for the hearings.

Out of the five complaints, two others are against SC justice nominee Prakash Dhungana and one is against justice nominee Hari Phuyal. Three other justice nominees have not received individual complaints at the PHC, according to the committee members.

A joint complaint registered by Thapa and advocate Purna Rajbanshsi has demanded the PHC to ask for the roster of eligible candidates from the JC.

“The recommendations of the justices has been made arbitrarily and the candidates have been handpicked by ministers and the chief justice, who is also the chairperson of the Judicial Council, without preparing a roster as demanded by the Supreme Court verdict,” reads the complaint registered by Thapa and Rajbanshi.

Similarly, another complaint has also demanded rejection of the justice nominees for breaching the criteria of seniority by the JC.

Similarly, six complaints have been registered against the Chief Election Commissioner nominee Dinesh Thapaliya at the PHC. According to the hearings committee Chairperson Laxman Lal Karna, the committee has decided to discuss the issues with the complainants on Wednesday morning and summon Thapaliya for hearing in the afternoon.

Most of the complaints against Thapaliya are from civil servants relating to the civil servants' adjustment in the federal structure.

Meanwhile, Nepali Congress provincial assembly member of Province 3, representing Kathmandu 4 (a), has registered a complaint against Thapaliya for being loyal to the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) instead of being impartial. The lawmaker has claimed that his appointment to the post of Chief Election Commissioner may damage the integrity of the commission and question fairness of the election process.

 
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