KATHMANDU, August 2: The Constitutional Council meeting on Tuesday failed to recommend the appointment of a new Chief Justice (CJ). 

Prime Minister and Chairman of the Constitutional Council Pushpa Kamal Dahal had called a meeting on Tuesday to recommend the appointment of the Chief Justice in consultation with the main opposition party CPN-UML Chairman KP Oli. 

Sources claimed that the CPN-UML, which has been disrupting the House of Representatives meeting demanding the formation of a high-level investigation committee on gold smuggling, has submitted a proposal to the Constitutional Council meeting to resolve other matters including the appointment of CJ. 

This is why the Constitutional Council has not been able to recommend a new Chief Justice, said a source familiar with the development. Speaker of the National Assembly, Ganesh Prasad Timilsina, who participated in the meeting, told reporters that although the recommendation for the appointment of a new Chief Justice was on the agenda, the recommendation was not made.

"We had a discussion, but it seems that more discussion is needed. The meeting has been postponed to be held again on August 3 at 5PM," he said. 

Chairman KP Oli has also said that the chairperson of the parliamentary committee of the Federal Parliament should be decided in the meeting. Before this, when Oli recommended Hari Krishna Karki as the Chief Justice, he had bargained with top leaders of the Nepali Congress and the Maoist Center in the committee, according to the sources. 

The sources claimed that Oli was trying to obstruct the recommendation for the appointment of the Chief Justice by creating hurdles and putting pressure on the committee's chairpersons. Senior Justice Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha is currently serving in the role of the Justice in the Supreme Court.

Based on the practice of appointing the Chief Justice on the basis of seniority, Shrestha, who was born in Kailali, will soon reach the highest position in the judiciary as the Chief Justice. According to the Constitution, a recommendation for the appointment of a new Chief Justice should be made one month before the incumbent Chief Justice retires.

 
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