As per existing legal provisions, the chief commissioner of the CIAA should administer oath of office to members appointed to the constitutional anti-graft body. But the body is now without a chief following the retirement of Acting Chief Commissioner Lalit Bahadur Limbu two weeks ago. [break]
"It is a blunder on the government´s part to appoint a member without first appointing the chief of the commission in accordance with legal provisions," said a senior official at the CIAA, adding, “This is an example of the government´s ignorance about legal provisions.”
Parliament amended the act relating to constitutional body officials through the Bill on Implementation of Republic last week. The Bill was endorsed by parliament last week.
Article 24 of the amended act relating to constitutional bodies has a provision that says the chiefs of all constitutional bodies should take their oath of office and secrecy from the chief justice and the members or commissioners of such constitutional bodies should take oath from their respective chiefs.
“The government´s unwise and improper decision has created a problem," the source said, adding, “This is probably the first case of a constitutional body member staying at home even after his appointment.”
Baral will have to wait till the appointment of the CIAA chief. The existing legal provisions prohibit him from assuming office without taking the oath of office and secrecy.
But unfortunately the appointment of chiefs and other vacant positions in the CIAA and other constitutional bodies remains uncertain as the main opposition Maoist party has been boycotting the meetings of the Constitutional Council (CC) on a regular basis.
Baral was officially appointed by President Dr Ram Baran Yadav on Thursday after the completion of a parliamentary hearings process.
A source at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers said that such a problem is the result of political parties quarreling over the sharing of positions in constitutional bodies.
The CC recommended the name of former Additional Inspector General of Police Baral as a CIAA commissioner two weeks ago. Although the CIAA has positions for five commissioners, only two commissioners had been working there for the last three years. And it has been without any commissioner at all for the last two weeks.
Baral joined the police service in 2035 BS and retired as AIG a few months ago.
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