KATHMANDU: The full court meeting of the Supreme Court has decided not to present judges before the Impeachment Recommendation Committee (IRC) to give a statement.
Earlier, the committee had decided that all the names suspended Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana mentioned during his testimony to the Committee would be called to IRC for cross examination.
During his statement Rana had mentioned names of some Supreme Court judges, senior lawyers, politicians, and journalists.
While answering the 43 questions asked against him, the suspended Chief Justice had argued that the impeachment proposal brought against him was baseless.
The meeting of the full court held on Wednesday reached at the conclusion that the sitting judges being called for testimony by the parliamentary committee would be against the law of separation of power and would also be against the established legal practices.
, “It is our opinion that this (sitting judges being called before parliamentary committee based on the allegations made by the person facing impeachment motion) is contrary to the concept of an independent judiciary,” a judge said after the full court meeting.
Earlier, the meeting of the IRC on Wednesday had decided to call Chief Justice Deepak Kumar Karki of the Supreme Court along with Judges Harikrishna Karki, Prakashman Singh Raut, Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada and Anand Mohan Bhattarai for statements. A meeting of the full court was held soon after that.
Since the term of the current parliament is ending on September 18, IRC is under pressure to submit a report before then. Constitutionalists are divided on what will happen if the current parliament does not complete this process.
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