SC stays CC recommendations

KATHMANDU, April 29: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday stayed a decision of the Constitutional Council (CC) to recommend names for chiefs and members of four statutory bodies and ordered state authorities not to implement the recommendations until a final decision of the court.



The special bench of Justices Bal Ram KC, Ram Kumar Prasad Shah and Mohan Prakash Sitaula issued an interim order stating that the CC failed to follow due process while deciding the recommendations. [break]



The Constitutional Council (Functions, Duties, Powers and Procedures) Act-2066 stipulates that all CC members should be informed 48 hours beforehand about the agenda, venue and date of a CC meeting.



"The documents submitted at the court show that the CC failed to dispatch a letter in the name of CC member and main opposition party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 48 hours beforehand as per the CC Act," reads the stay order, adding, "The CC seems to have sent a letter to Dahal on April 22 and taken its decision on April 23. It explicitly shows that Dahal was not informed 48 hours beforehand."



Government lawyers had submitted at the court a letter dispatched by the CC in Dahal´s name on April 22. The special bench has also ordered the government to furnish written clarifications about the CC decision. The apex court has given high priority to a writ filed by Dahal challenging the CC decision.



"The bench would hold full hearings on the writ within seven days from the date of receiving written clarifications from all 11 candidates recommended for various statutory posts.," the stay order further states.



UCPN-Maoist Chairman Dahal had filed his writ petition at the SC on Sunday.



In the writ petition, Dahal stated that the CC decision taken without his [main opposition] party´s approval violated constitutional and legal provisions.



Dahal claimed that he was not informed about the meeting and learnt about the CC decision only through media.



The CC recommended Babu Ram Acharya as chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Neel Kantha Uprety as chief of the Election Commission, Udaya Nepali Shrestha as chief of the Public Service Commission and Bhanu Acharya as auditor general.



Likewise the CC had recommended Bisheshwar Man Shrestha, Drona Raj Regmee, Him Bahadur Gurung and Munilal Yadav as CIAA commissioners.



The CC recommended Ram Sworup Sinha, who retired recently as secretary at the Ministry of Education, as member of the Public Service Commission. Likewise, Dr Bhola Shah and Bhushan Shrestha have been recommended as members of the Election Commission.

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