KATHMANDU, Jan 21: District Judge Dr Parashuram Bhattarai has resigned from his post on Friday, January 19.
District Judge Bhattarai, who has served in the Judicial Council (JC) for a long time, has resigned. Judge Dr Bhattarai submitted his resignation to the Chief Justice (CJ) through the Judicial Council on Friday saying that the investigation on him has not been completed and he has not been assigned any responsibility.
Earlier, the JC formed a committee for a detailed investigation on the three judges who were transferred to the Judicial Council. The committee led by Supreme Court Justice Dr Ananda Mohan Bhattarai has conducted a detailed investigation and submitted its report to the JC. Meanwhile, Judge Bhattarai resigned from his post on Friday.
A committee was formed to conduct a detailed inquiry against Judges Ambika Prasad Niraula, Dr Parashuram Bhattarai and Rajkumar Koirala on matters such as malpractice, lack of capacity and corruption in the complaints and cases filed in the JC. A committee was formed for the investigation under the chairmanship of Ananda Mohan Bhattarai with Prakash Kumar Dhungana and Til Prasad Shrestha as expert members.
Judges Dr Navaraj Thapalia and Ambika Niraula sacked
While in the Kathmandu District Court, Judge Ambika Niraula acquitted Baburaja Rawal as an Indian citizen in the kidnapping case, and he was accused of colluding in some cases. Judge Niraula acquitted the defendant Durga Bahadur Budhathoki on September 21, 2021 saying that the prosecution claim was not sufficient in the kidnapping and body hostage case. Niraula has been accused of acquitting Budhathoki by saying that the individual involved had a different name although it was the same person.
Similarly, Manoj Sah, the owner of Shiv Oil Petrol Pump in Janakpur, was shot dead on October 23, 2019. Judge Dr Parashuram Bhattarai's bench acquitted the accused, including Damodar Prasad Chaudhary, who was accused of murder, saying that the charges could not be confirmed. A complaint was filed at the Judicial Council saying that his decision was flawed.
In the said case, Judge Bhattarai acquitted the accused by saying that the pistol recovered by the police from the site was found to be made in the USA and in the lab report, it is mentioned that the pistol was homemade and said that it was inconclusive that the bullet was fired from the same pistol.
Similarly, a complaint was also filed against Niharika's husband Shiva Raj Shrestha who was accused in the Sonali Kumari Singh i.e. Niharika Rajput case of rape. The High Court acquitted Shiva Raj in the said case and upheld the decision of the District Court.
On the other hand, the audio of Judge Rajkumar Koirala's money transaction with the lawyer in the Ichchha Raj Tamang case was leaked. Former Nepal Bar Association treasurer Rudra Pokhrel was heard discussing with Judge Koirala about securing Tamang's release and offering a bribe of Rs 20 million.
Pokharel called Judge Koirala while Tamang was in police custody while his hearing was pending at the court in the civil cooperative fraud case and asked Koirala to release Tamang from prison after demanding a bail of Rs 100 million.
Pokharel also told Judge Koirala that he would take Rs 20 million for the purpose of releasing him from prison. However, Judge Koirala did not say anything about releasing Tamang on bail or not and ordered that Tamang be sent to jail.
According to sources, two of the three judges involved in the detailed investigation have been recommended for dismissal. However, no further information has come out regarding who will be dismissed, who will be left after warning or against whom action will be taken.
Even though Judge Dr Parashuram Bhattarai has resigned, his resignation has not been approved. Although Bhattarai's resignation has been submitted to CJ Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha, he has not yet accepted the resignation saying that he will take a decision on the matter only after the meeting of the JC.
If the JC decides to dismiss Judge Dr Parashuram Bhattarai, he will lose pension benefits. But if he resigns before the action and his resignation is accepted, he will be eligible to receive pension, depending on the JC’s final decision.
