Five complaints against CJ nominee
Accused of favoring land mafia, dozing off and chewing tobacco during trials.
KATHMANDU, July 24: The Parliamentary Hearings Special Committee (PHSC) has decided to summon Chief Justice designate Deepak Raj Joshee for his hearing on Thursday.
Opening five complaints registered against him on Monday, a meeting of the parliamentary panel also decided to summon the complainants on Tuesday for discussion. Various individuals have registered complaints against Joshee questioning his performance, fairness and integrity during his career in the judicial service.
Most of the accusers have accused Joshee of favoring land mafia on public land encroachment cases in his multiple verdicts in the past. A complaint has accused Joshee of taking naps and consuming tobacco in the bench.
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Three of the five complaints have mentioned that Joshee splashed huge amount of money in the wedding party of his son and daughter, breaching the social reforms law.
The complaints have also questioned the source of the wedding expenses. CJ nominee Joshee is accused of giving impunity to Chudamani Sharma, who was alleged of multi-billion tax scam case and favoring justices with bad records in the apex court during his term as the acting CJ for the last four months.
Two complaints have charged Joshee of colluding with a negotiator and allowing him frequently into his residence for settling cases. A complainant has claimed that the state has lost Rs 5 billion because of various decisions taken by Joshee as judge, justice and acting CJ.
One of the complaints has urged the parliamentary sub-committee for probing the allegations and finding supporting evidences on the complaints.
Four of the complaints have been registered in the name of individuals either by a single person or jointly by various individuals while one complaint lodged in the name of ‘Nyaya Premi Janata Haru’ (People for Justice) has not disclosed the identity of the complainants.
Soon after the formation of the PHSC, it had issued a public notice seeking complaints against Joshee prior to summoning him for the hearing.
The Constitutional Council (CC) had recommended Acting Chief Justice Joshee for the post of CJ on June 12. But his hearing process was on hold due to the delay in the formation of the hearings committee. The post of CJ has remained vacant since the last four months after the Judicial Council relieved the then CJ Gopal Parajuli of his responsibilities in March.
The PHSC can reject any recommendations for the post of CJ from two-thirds majority among the 15-member committee while it can endorse any proposal merely through one-third majority.
