KATHMANDU, Aug 8: The main opposition party, Nepali Congress (NC), has concluded that the Parliamentary Hearings Committee (PHC) rejected the nomination of Deepak Raj Joshee as chief justice as per the directive of Prime Minister KP Oli, and without any concrete reason or basis for doing so.
A meeting of the party’s Central Working Committee (CWC) held on Tuesday concluded that lawmakers representing the prime minister’s party in the PHC had decided to reject the nomination of Joshee as chief justice out of ill-intention.
PHSC may endorse Joshee for CJ today
The Constitutional Council headed by Prime Minister Oli had recommended Joshee as chief justice. “All in all, the appointment process of the chief justice faced disaster as Prime Minister KP Oli, against the stature and responsibility of his post, played a double role of recommending the name and getting the recommendation rejected in malafide fashion,” said the NC statement issued after the meeting.
The NC has said that the party takes this unfortunate episode as an encroachment and controlled interference by the executive in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. The meeting also decided to remain active in safeguarding the fundamental values of democracy, constitution, constitutional supremacy and independence of the judiciary.
