JUDICIARY IN JEOPARDY
Upheaval in Nepal
The end of current crises in the
supreme court of Nepal seems hazy as Nepal's top judges has come under fire
after courting a series of controversies and calls have grown for Cholendra
Shamsher Rana, the incumbent chief justice of supreme Court of Nepal to step
down. However, Rana refused to budge giving way to rising tensions.
Rana has been accused of
making deals with political parties, especially with PM Sher Bahadur Deuba, and
even securing a ministerial berth for one of his relatives, demanding a share
in constitutional bodies, feeling to maintain judicial integrity and passing
controversial verdicts, failed to lead, clean up the mess in the judiciary and
attended to cause irreparable damage to the judiciary. A judicial deadlock is
on the cards. Political parties on both the ruling and opposition sides have so
far been silent on the controversy.
Nepal's
judiciary by and large has a great history of maintaining its independence and
it has in the past performed its duty without being influenced by the executive
or any other power centres. Former Justices say it is incumbent upon the
sitting chief justice to maintain the dignity of the judiciary. If the
judiciary faces a crisis, it's the chief justice who should take the lead.
Though the former judges have not explicitly called for Rana's resignation,
they have said Parliament should fulfill its constitutional duty, hinting at an
impeachment motion against the chief justice.
The
recent crisis could be a watershed moment for Nepal's judiciary. Experts opine
that the crisis in the Nepal's judiciary was in the making for quite a while
and Rana's resignation alone may not be the panacea for all ills afflicting.
People will start losing faith in the judiciary if the situation continues to
rise. This could also be an opportunity to bring changes in the judiciary. It's
time series introspection and restructuring of the judiciary is done.
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