A highly placed source at the JC indicated the possibility of forming another high level committee comprising of three SC justices to investigate the charges against Justice Bam and Basent.[break] "All JC members tentatively agreed that the legitimacy of KC-led committee is questionable," said the source, adding, "They informally agreed to form another high-level committee to look into the charges."
At the meeting of JC members held on Friday, the members have tentatively agreed to consider the same report in the case of Hetauda Appellate Court Judge Tej Bahadur Karki, according to Law and Justice Minister Prem Bahadur Singh.
"Justice Bam and Judge Basnet do not fall under the jurisdiction of the KC-led committee," said Minister Singh, adding, "All JC members agreed that there should be a further study on the report before taking actions against the two justices." Expressing his dissatisfaction over the report, he said that the report is completely biased and opined that the JC should also question Justice KC´s ´competence´, for preparing the report.
"It is clear that the KC-led committee breached its jurisdiction in preparing the report. The JC had not authorized him to investigate against Justice Bam and Judge Basnet. Justice KC was only authorized to investigate the allegations against Judge Karki," said the minister.
He also expressed serious objection against Justice KC´s decision ordering an investigation into the bank accounts of Justice Bam. "KC´s intention in the matter is very controversial," Singh told Republica. He revealed that KC had dispatched a letter to Nepal Rastra Bank seeking the details of Justice Bam´s bank accounts during the investigation period.
According to a knowledgeable source, Chief Justice Ram Prasad Shrestha expressed dissatisfaction over Minister Singh´s comments on the issue in media. "We should desist from leaking secret details and voicing our dissenting views through media," the source quoted Chief Justice Shrestha as saying.
Another JC member and SC senior most Justice Kheel Raj Regmee opined that the JC should reach a conclusion by reading the report seriously. "Let´s read the report thoroughly. But let´s not complicate the issue," a source quoted Justice Regmee as saying at the meeting.
The KC-led Committee had concluded that the division bench of Justice Bam and Judge Basnet, the former in his capacity as chief judge at Patan Appellate Court, had released three accused -- Sanjay Shrestha, Rohit Paliwan Agrawal and Bhimsen Pandit, arrested on charges of kidnapping, murder, and arms possession, on a low bail.
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