No decision yet on ad hoc judges’ tenure

Due to the absence of Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Narendra Bikram Nembang in today’s meeting of the Judicial Council, the council could not take a decision on extending the tenure of three ad hoc judges of the Supreme Court.“The meeting could not decide anything as the Law Minister did not attend the meeting due to his busy schedule in the parliament,” secretary of the council Prakash Kumar Dhungana told journalists. He added that the meeting will continue tomorrow.The council has been discussing on whether or not to extend the tenure of ad hoc judges Pawan Kumar Ojha, Rajendra Prasad Koirala and Tahir Ali Ansari. It has also been discussing the issue of appointing an executive director of the Nepal Judicial Academy.“We hope that we will be able to take a decision tomorrow,” a member of the council said. Chief Justice Kedar Prasad Giri, Justice Min Bahadur Rayamajhi and members Basudev Dhungana and Motikaji Sthapit attended today’s meeting. “We have been awaiting Law Minister’s views on the matter,” he added.According to him, some members of the council have proposed to extend the tenure of the judges by two more years and they may not face a parliamentary hearing, too.