SC justices at a meeting with top leaders on Tuesday objected to the proposal of forming a constitutional court and to reappoint judges after promulgation of new constitution, among other provisions.[break]
After listening to the opinions of judges top leaders at the meeting of the subcommittee, headed by UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, on Wednesday sought opinions from the lawyer-turned lawmakers who are also members at the subcommittee.
Khimlal Devkota of UCPN (Maoist), Radheshyam Adhikari and Ramesh Lekhak of Nepali Congress (NC), Agni Kharel and Sapana Malla Pradhan of CPN-UML and Laxman Lal Karna of Sadbhavana Party, among others, aired their views at the meeting.
Some of the members including Devkota, Kharel and Pradhan raised questions over the justices´ remarks. "The justices were not offering feedbacks for the CA but lobbied not to touch the judiciary," a participant quoted Devkota as saying. "How can we take their suggestions to restructure other two organs of the state -- legislature and executive -- but not to touch the judiciary?"
Maoist lawmakers also said that the proposal to form constitutional court was finalized as a compromise among the major political parties. The Maoist lawmakers said they would go back to the party´s original proposal if the agreement to find a compromise point is violated. The Maoist´s original concept is to mandate the parliament to interpret the constitution and the laws of the land.
Sources said, Kharel also asked the top leaders to be clear whether or not they can firmly stick to their previous agreements. "The idea of forming a constitutional court was proposed as a common ground amidst the political deadlock," a leader quoted Kharel as saying at the meeting.
Adhikari of the NC, however, argued at the meeting that they might ponder over the proposal to form a separate bench within the apex court to deal with the cases of political nature, which is also a preference of the justices.
Dahal, NC parliamentary party leader Ram Chandra Paudel, and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal from CPN-UML, among others, were present at the meeting.
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