KATHMANDU, Aug 23: The Constitutional Council (CC) headed by Prime Minister KP Oli on Thursday picked Supreme Court (SC) Acting Chief Justice Om Prakash Mishra as the Chief Justice (CJ).

A CC meeting on Thursday decided unanimously to recommend the name of Acting CJ Mishra for the position of Chief Justice lying vacant for the last five months.

The CC meeting took the decision unanimously to select Mishra as all the members – Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Opposition Leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, Upper House Chairman Ganesh Timalsina, Deputy Speaker Shivamaya Tumbahamphe and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal – agreed on his nomination as the next CJ. According to Article 284 of the Constitution, the CC has the power to pick Chief Justice, Justices of the Supreme Court and heads and members of the constitutional bodies and to recommend their names for parliamentary hearings.

Following the rejection of the then Acting CJ Deepak Raj Joshi for the post of CJ by the Parliamentary Hearing Committee (PHC) on August 3, the CC held its meeting to select another Chief Justice and nominated Mishra for the top position of the judiciary.

After being rejected by the PHC, Joshee is on leave and Mishra has been working as the Acting Chief Justice. Now, Mishra has to face parliamentary hearings before he could be appointed as the head of the judiciary as per Article 292 of the Constitution. If the PHC confirms his appointment, he will serve as the CJ till December 31, 2018.

 
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