Kathmandu, August 1
Nepali Congress Joint General Secretary Prakash Sharan Mahat says errors in academic credentials of Chief Justice nominee Deepak Raj Joshee are in fact not the major reasons behind the ruling Nepal Communist Party’s preparations to reject him for the top judicial position.
“They [leaders of the NCP] have tried to establish academic certificates as the issue. But, it is not the crux,” he tells Onlinekhabar in an interview, “They want to check if the judiciary functions in the way they like.”
A meeting of the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee is due for this afternoon and the meeting is expected to make a decision whether to endorse or reject Joshee’s name for the Chief Justice. Media have reported that the NCP is preparing to reject his name.
Two ruling parties–NCP and the Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal–have 10 members in the 15-member Committee and they can reject any nomination.
“They say the Committee members are free to decide. But, how can they be free when they receive commands from the top?” Mahat argues, “They want to keep a sword hanging above the court. We understand that rejecting the name is an interference in the court and protest accordingly.”
