KATHMANDU, April 30: Ending a month-long row over the proposed appointment of former Chief Secretary Lokman Singh Karki as the Chief Commissioner of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday scrapped its earlier interim order on the issue.
A division bench of justices Girish Chandra Lal and Tarka Raj Bhatta said it is not necessary to continue the interim order stating that it will be premature to take a view about the competency or incompetency of a particular person and to interfere with the constitutionally allocated duty and responsibility of the Constitutional Council (CC).[break]
Maintaining that there cannot be any dispute that the recommendation made by the CC for appointment for the post should be as per the Article 119 (5) of the Interim Constitution and clause 5 of the Constitutional Council (Functions, Duties, Powers and Procedures) Act, 2066, Justice Lal and Bhatta stated that they did not find that the president´s office and the CC have done anything against the existing provisions.
According to Article 119 (5) (e) of the Interim Constitution, a person will not be eligible to be appointed as chief commissioner or a commissioner unless he/she has sound moral character.
Similarly, as per Clause 5 of the Constitutional Council (Functions, Duties, Powers and Procedures) Act, 2066, the Council shall, while recommending a person for appointment to any constitutional body, set out the qualifications as mentioned in the Constitution and prevailing laws and the reasons and grounds for the recommendation.
Also, the council shall, while recommending a person pursuant to Sub-section (1) shall consider matters including his/her social prestige, sound moral character, honesty, public attitude toward him/her and his/her previous service, if any, and professional experience.
The SC´s Monday´s order has cleard deck for appointing Karki as the head of the anti-graft body.
Altogether 14 advocates including senior advocates Shambhu Thapa and Shree Hari Aryal, former Attorney General Sarbagya Ratna Tuladhar and Vice-president of Nepal Bar Association (NBA) Tikaram Bhattarai had pleaded on behalf of the writ petitioner advocate Om Prakash Aryal.
They had maintained that the appointment of Karki as the CIAA chief will make a mockery of democracy and sacrifice made by the martyrs.
Altogether five advocates had pleaded on the behalf of Karki while four advocates from the Office of the Attorney General including the attorney general himself had pleaded on behalf of the Interim Election Council, one of the defendants in the writ petition.
A single bench of justice Sushila Karki on March 22 had ordered the government to halt the appointment process stating that the Interim Election Council, which has been formed to hold fresh election, cannot take decision on issues that may have long-term impact. Justice Karki had also questioned the legal status of the High Level Political Committee (HLPC).
Advocate Aryal on March 20 had moved the apex court challenging the government´s preparations to appoint Karki as CIAA chief. Aryal moved the court following a decision by the HLPC to recommend the Interim Election Council to appoint Karki as CIAA head.
In the petition, Aryal had stated that the recommendation of the HLPC to appoint Karki as the head of the CIAA is against constitutional provisions and the spirit of the people´s movement, rule of law, good governance, transparency, accountability and the principle of constitutional checks and balances.
The writ petitioner had claimed that Karki is not eligible for the post as he was involved in suppression of the April 2006 democratic movement.
The Office of the President, Chairman of Interim Election Council Khil Raj Regmi and his office, Constitutional Council, the CIAA, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Karki were named as defendants in the writ petition.
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