SC to boost security in Tarai courts

A full court meeting of the Supreme Court justices decided to adopt security measures in courts in the Tarai as per the recommendation of a panel formed to resolve security problems there.The panel comprising justices Ram Prasad Shrestha, Sharada Prasad Pundit and Rajendra Kumar Bhandari had submitted its report to Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel on August 9. “The meeting has decided to implement the report,” assistant spokesperson of the apex court Hemanta Rawal said.“The SC administration will adopt suitable measures after consulting the chiefs of various security agencies,” Rawal added. “Either we will request them to provide additional security for judges and court staffers there or we will transfer them (judges and court staffers of hill origin) to suitable places,” he added. According to Rawal, the meeting has reviewed the security situation in the Judiciary and demanded more security in the benches. “The decision has been taken keeping in mind the possible threat to judges while hearing cases in benches,” he added.The meeting also decided to implement another report prepared by a separate panel of judges that studied a case concerning conversations between a person and court staffers regarding the issueance of a verdict in his favour. The panel comprising judges Top Bahadur Magar, Damodar Prasad Sharma, and Ram Kumar Prasad Shah has recommended the SC administration not to promote Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel’s former personal assistant Shreekrishna Bhattarai and Section Officer Baburam Dahal for the next five years for allegedly assuring one Rajesh Shakaya to issue a verdict in his favour by influencing judges. The panel also suggested to prevent Shakya from entering any court of law as per court rules, as he defamed the image of the Judiciary.The panel also recommended the monitoring of judges’ code of conduct and its implementation. It also suggested to frame a code of conduct for court journalists and provide training to those do not have legal knowledge for the dissemination of legal news.

Parliament passes CA Polls Court bill
The Interim Legislature-Parliament on Friday passed the Constituent Assembly Elections Court Bill 2064.
This was the last bill pending for ratification by parliament for the Constituent Assembly polls.
The Constituent Assembly Elections Bill has a provision to establish a court that will look into contentious issues and investigate them during the polls.
The court will be headed by a Supreme Court justice with two members to be nominated by the Judicial Council.
The court will also have the authority to invalidate the polls if any irregularities are found during the elections.
No one would be able to move any court once the Constituent Assembly Court gives its verdict in a case.
Earlier, a meeting of the Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Committee had passed the Constituent Assembly Polls Bill and tabled it at parliament.

NBA Slams JC Over Judges’ Selection

The Nepal Bar Association (NBA) on Tuesday criticised the Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel-headed Judicial Council (JC) for initiating a process for the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court and appellate courts without consulting the lawyers’ body.In a letter, the NBA urged the JC not to appoint judges without consulting it (NBA). “The act of the Judicial Council to appoint judges without consulting the NBA is objectionable,” the letter signed by NBA’s acting president Hari Prasad Uprety said.“We have learnt that the Judicial Council has initiated a process for judges’ appointment without consulting us; this letter has been written to urge the JC not to go ahead without consulting us,” Uprety said.The Interim Constitution has recognised the NBA as a partner of the judiciary and the lawyers have been demanding the NBA’s involvement in the judges’ appointment.

Court issues stay order in APCA Nepal case
The Patan Appellate Court Wednesday issued a stay order asking the Maoist-aligned trade union workers not to disrupt work at The Himalayan Times and Annapurna Post dailies.
The Maoist-aligned trade union workers have been disrupting distribution and printing of the two dailies for the last five days.
Responding to a petition filed by Asia Pacific Communication Associates (APCA) Nepal, marketer of the two dailies, a division bench comprising justices Krishna Prasad Basyal and Hari Bahadur Basnet issued the stay order at today's hearing asking the workers not to obstruct the printing and distribution of the two dailies.

All ten accused get clean chit in Lauda Air Case

The Special Court Monday gave a clean chit to all ten accused including former Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Taruni Dutt in a seven years old controversial Lauda Air lease deal.
A division bench of judges Bhoopdhoj Adhikary, Komal Nath Sharma and Cholendra SJB Rana acquitted all six accused, citing lack of evidence to prove them wrong.
In its decree, the bench has noted that “the (former Royal) Nepal Airlines Corporation has the right to take planes on lease and that there is no proper procedure” on acquiring aircrafts on lease.
The then RNAC Executive Chairman Hari Bhakta Shrestha and the Board members Tirthalal Shrestha, Gaurinath Sharma, Siddharaj Joshi, executives U P Upadhyaya and Pushkar Wagle, and the executives of Vienna-based airlines Andrea Molineri and Otmar Lenz are other those receiving the clean chit.
On May 24, 2001, the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of the Authority (CIAA) had moved the Special Court, charging the ten persons with embezzling Rs 389 million through the 18-month lease deal.
The CIAA had also admonished then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala in connection with the case.

Parliament okays five bills

The parliament on Sunday passed the Customs Bill, Nepal Academy Bill, Nepal Lalitkala Academy Bill, Nepal Music and Theatre Academy Bill and Foreign Employment Bill, 2064 BS.
Proposals to this effect were presented in the meeting by Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prithivi Subba Gurung and Minister of State for Labour Ramesh Lekhak.State Affairs Committee member, Amod Prasad Upadhyaya, presented the bill related to Decorations, 2064 BS, including the report of the committee in the meeting. Member of the International Relations Committee, Jhalanath Khanal, presented the bill related to Non-Resident Nepalis, including the committee report in the meeting. RSS

CJ Paudel Wants Independence of Judiciary

Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel on Sunday called for the protection of judicial independence."Only an independent judiciary can strengthen Lokatantra and everyone should keep this in mind," Paudel said at a programme organised by the council on Sunday to mark 14th Nepal Bar Council (NBC) Day.Paudel also called for good relations between the judiciary and lawyers for the rule of law and judicial independence.Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Narendra Bikram Nembang, said that the government is preparing to solve the problems facing the judges and court staffers in the Tarai. "The government is committed to solving the problems through peaceful ways. The government will opt for legal ways if the problems can be resolved through peaceful ways," he added.Attorney-general and chairman of the NBC, Yagya Murti Banjade, said lawyers can play a crucial role in maintaining the rule of law in the country. He also called for the implementation of the code of conduct of lawyers and stressed the need to make the legal practitioners more skilled.

Implement verdict on missing: SC

The Supreme Court wrote to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to strictly implement the SC’s two-month-old verdict that had directed the government to provide compensation to 83 families of the disappeared and promulgate an Act criminalising forced disappearances.
A section of the Supreme Court which works and monitors the implementation of verdicts wrote to the Office of the Attorney General to immediately implement the landmark verdict.
“This would take time as the verdict has called for the promulgation of an Act and formation of a commission. However, we have already initiated the process of its implementation,” Yagya Murti Banjade, Attorney General, told .
Citing the verdict, the Monitoring and Implementation Division of the Supreme Court told the OAG to implement the verdict soon and inform about the implementation.“Inform the apex court after providing amounts to the families of the victims as per the order,” the letter signed by SC official Prakash Pundit stated.
On June 1, the apex court had issued a mandamus order to the government to prosecute those involved in the murder of people in detention centres and to promulgate the necessary Act in this regard.Responding to 83 habeas corpus petitions, a division bench of Justices Khil Raj Regmi and Kalyan Shrestha had passed the verdict directing to prosecute those guilty for forced disappearance of people.
The apex court had directed to provide Rs 2 lakh to the family of Chakra Bahadur Katuwal who was killed in a detention centre and provide Rs 1 lakh to those whose family members were disappeared after arrest.Secretary of the PMO, Madhav Paudel, however, said that the government is serious to implement the verdict.
“The government has already started the process to provide compensation to the families of the victims soon after the cabinet decision,” he added.“But the implementation of the other parts of the verdict may take more time,” he added.
-Ananta Raj Luitel in himalayn times

Court summons workers in APCA case
Patan Appellate Court has summoned Maoist-affiliated workers' who have announced they will again disrupt distribution of The Himalayan Times (THT) and the Annapurna Post (AP) dailies from Sunday.
A single bench of Justice Buddhi Prasad Regmi yesterday summoned the defendants to appear in court Monday to discuss a stay order petition not to disrupt distribution of the dailies.
The petition was filed by CU Anand, chief operative officer of Asia Pacific Communication Associates (APCA) Nepal. The court has summoned All Nepal Communication and Printing Publication Workers' Association, Anamnagar, its chairman Arjun Prasad Gautam, and its chairman at Sainbu, Lalitpur Khuchindra Thapa.
The bench also ordered them to submit written affidavits justifying their threat to kill those who distribute the dailies and their announcement to disrupt distribution.
APCA COO Anand sought the stay order against the defendants as their activities violated rights guaranteed under Clause 6(6) and 9 of the Citizens Rights Act 2012 BS.

Judge’s demotion case lands in SC again

A controversial case that caused the demotion of a Supreme Court justice, Paramananda Jha, a year ago, has reached the apex court once again.The Kathmandu District Court (KDC) had awarded an eight-year jail termto a drug peddler, Dil Bahadur Gurung. But two years ago, Jha, then a Supreme Court judge, granted bail to Gurung.Gurung has been arrested again and the case, once again, has landed in the apex court.A single bench of justice Balram KC today issued a notice to the Kathmandu District Court and the Narcotic Drug Control Law Enforcement Unit asking them to explain, within five days, the reason behind the arrest of Gurung. The unit had arrested Gurung from Shiphal on Tuesday. Appealing for the release of Gurung, a habeas corpus petition was registered yesterday.The Judicial Council headed by Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel had demoted Jha for “improperly” acquitting Gurung on September 17. Overturning the Kathmandu District Court and Patan Appellate Court orders to jail Gurung, Jha had granted him bail.Police had caught Gurung while he was trying to smuggle 679 kg of marijuana into Holland some three years ago. A three-member panel comprising SC Justices Anup Raj Sharma, Khil Raj Regmi and Ram Prasad Shrestha, which was formed to examine Gurung’s acquittal, concluded that Jha’s decision to acquit Gurung was improper. The panel also recommended the Judicial Council to press Jha for resignation and not to extend his tenure if he does not resign.The Judicial Council had demoted apex court judge Jha, deputing him as the chief judge of the Biratnagar Appellate Court. But the apex court had to call Jha back as lawyers and people of Biratnagar opposed Jha’s posting in the appellate court. The apex court then sent Jha to the Judicial Council’s reserve pool.The habeas corpus petition, claiming that Gurung has the right to remain free until the decision of the Patan Appellate Court, has demanded Gurung’s release. Gurung claimed it was improper to arrest him even after the KDC conviction on the drug peddling case. He also claimed that he still has not moved the Patan Appellate Court with an appeal under Clause 26 of the Government Case Act 1992 challenging the KDC verdict.

Ananta Raj Luitel in himalayan times

No Need of Judicial Review on Poll Act, SC Told

The Parliament Secretariat on Thursday told the Supreme Court not to examine the recently-promulgated Constituent Assembly Member Election Act, 2007. It said there is no need of judicial intervention in the Act's provision to disqualify those indicted by the Rayamajhi Commission from contesting the constituent assembly elections.
"It is the prerogative of the parliament to promulgate the Act and there is no need for the apex court to intervene in the issue," joint secretary at the Parliament Secretariat, Tek Prasad Dhungana, said while submitting an affidavit on Thursday. He said that the Rayamajhi Commission-indicted are disqualified from contesting the constituent assembly elections as they suppressed the Jana Andolan II through the misuse of state powers and treasury.
"Such a disqualification is legitimate because those indicted by the Rayamajhi Commission have violated human rights and misused state treasury. As the government disqualified them as per its constitutional mandate, there is no need for the apex court to review the matter," the affidavit stated. The Parliament Secretariat was responding the SC notices on a writ petition filed by advocate Kamalesh Dwevedi. The writ petitioner has challenged the provision of the Act that bars the Rayamahjhi Commission-indicted from contesting the elections.Dhungana claimed that the provision to bar the Rayamajhi Commission-indicted is in line with Article 65 (C 1) of the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007 and Clauses 18 and 19 of the Constituent Assembly Election Act 2007.

Tarai court staffers’ plight: SC panel seeks preventive measures

A panel of judges formed to look into the plight of judges and court officials in the Tarai region has suggested the government adopt preventive measures to protect their lives.The panel set up by the Supreme Court and comprising Ram Prasad Shrestha, Sharada Prasad Pundit and Rajendra Kumar Bhandari submitted its report to Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel today.The report says that the government should provide additional security and a common residence to the judges and the court staffers working in the region.It says the government should tackle political problems in the Tarai through meaningful dialogue and other problems that do not concern politics by taking stringent measures.The panel has further said the government should handle the problems in a “concrete manner” as they are not specific problems of court staffers.According to the report, all civil servants stationed in the Tarai districts such as Rautahat, Siraha, Bara, Parsa, Sarlahi, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Nawalparasi, Kapilvastu, Rupandehi, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali, Kanchanpur and Dang have been facing similar problems.The panel also says that the problems could be solved to some extent by keeping Tarai-born staffers in the Tarai region and those born in the hills in the hilly areas.The report has also accused the media of publishing and broadcasting news items that threaten social harmony. It suggested the government take action against such media houses under the Press and Publication Act 1992.“Such an action is needed in order to bring the situation back to normal,” it says.“The government and the political parties failed to initiate any programme to restore normalcy in the region. Political parties, intellectuals and lawyers should concentrate on launching social programmes to address the various problems plaguing the country,” the panel concludes.

Judiciary corruption scandal: Verdicts weren’t affected, says panel

The Supreme Court judges’ panel, formed to investigate alleged conversations between Rajesh Shakya and SC section officer Baburam Dahal over attempting to influence a case, submitted its report yesterday.The three-member panel has concluded that the conversation between the two had no grounds to influence the court verdict. It, however, suggested the authority take departmental action against corrupt officials and adopt policies and programmes to promote people’s confidence in the judiciary.Assistant Spokesperson of the Supreme Court Hemanta Rawal told journalists that the panel comprising judges Top Bahadur Magar, Damodar Prasad Sharma and Ram Kumar Prasad Shah submitted the report to the Chief Justice.After receiving the report, the CJ asked Registrar Dr Ram Krishna Timalsena to forward it to the next full court meeting for necessary action. “The panel has concluded that the conversation between Dahal and Shakya had no grounds to influence the court verdicts,” Rawal said, citing the report.He added that verdicts issued in the cases were genuine and the conversations had not affected them in any manner.The panel had interrogated 19 persons involved in the case.

Court employees call for indefinite strike nationwide
Nepal Judiciary Employees Concern Committee (NEJECC), umbrella organisation of court employees across the country, called for an indefinite strike from Monday.
Court staff at the Apex court and 10 other courts had brought work to a halt yesterday to protest the transfers and press for transparency in administrative and economic affairs.
All judicial and administrative activities in courts across the country have come to a halt today.
To protest against the ill-intended transfers and corruption during recruiting employees in the computer department, we have called for the strike, said NEJECC president Bhandary.
The employees have been demanding transparency in economic and administrative affairs, action against corrupt and withdrawal of the transfers.
The strike will continue unless our demands are met, informed Bhandary.
The employees’ committee said that it was forced to announce the strike as Timalsena transferred its president Binod Adhikary to Rautahat, General Secretary Nagendra Kalakheti to Siraha and member Jiwan Bhandari to Taplejung.
The NEJECC members were given transfer orders following their demand of transparency in investment and recruitment in Information Technology (IT) at the court.
The Supreme Court officials are currently holding discussions to resolve the problem.

Former SC Justice Mallik dies at 80
Former Supreme Court Justice Janardan Lal Mallik died Sunday night at the age of 80.
Mallik was the chairman of the investigation committee that was formed to probe into the atrocities committed during the 1990 people's movement.
Mallik has been suffering from brain disease for a long time and was undergoing treatment at Bir Hospital in the capital.
Mallik was the first chief commissioner of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority.
Mallik is survived by his wife, three sons two daughters.

Parliament passes civil service bill
The parliament Friday passed a bill amending Civil Service Act 1993, thus ending the one-year long legal vacuum in the bureaucracy.
The amended Act has guaranteed time-bound promotion, reservation, and trade union rights, besides making the secretarial appointment process relatively more transparent.
Time-bound promotion, trade union rights and 45 percent reservation for women, Janajatis, Madhesis, Dalits, physically challenged and backward region have been guaranteed in the bureaucracy for the first time.
As per time-bound promotion, non-gazetted government employees in the post of clerk will be promoted to higher level provided they have the required qualification in 10 years. Similarly, non-gazetted first class officials will be upgraded every 12 years, section officers every 15 years, while under-secretaries and joint secretaries will get promoted every 18 years.
Similarly, the provision for reservation says that 45 percent of the total posts in the bureaucracy will be distributed to women (33 percent), Janajati (27 percent), Madhesi (22 percent), Dalit (9 percent), physically challenged (5 percent) and backward region (4 percent).
However, the Act has adopted the principle of positive reservation.
The provision on trade union rights allows government employees up to the post of section officer to join trade unions. Previously, only non-gazetted officers, below the post of section officer were allowed to join unions or organizations. Trade union rights also means the trade union of the government should be registered at the Department of Labor.
The provision of time-bound promotion and trade union rights are still the most controversial provisions. Critics fear that the provision for automatic promotion, one of the major demands of agitating government employees' organizations and unions, will affect meritocracy in the civil service.
Likewise, those who oppose trade union rights say that the provision will lead to politicization of the "permanent government".
Yuv Raj Panday, general administration secretary, said the parliament-endorsed bill has ensured transparency and provided no room for manipulation in the appointment of secretaries. According to him, secretaries will be appointed only in Poush (mid-December to mid-January) and Ashad (mid-June-mid July) every year.
Agitating government employees' organizations said that the Act has not addressed their demands fully. "We had demanded time-bound promotion every ten years for all government employees. Still, whatever we have achieved is satisfactory. It has opened doors to address our demands in future," said Bhawani Thani, President of Nepal Civil Service Employees' Union.
Likewise, Ganesh Basyal, President of Nepal Government Employees Organization said, "Our demands for trade union rights up to the post of undersecretary, equal period for promotion for all government employees and reform in work performance evaluation have not been addressed. We will continue our movement to get the demands addressed."
In the meantime, employees of the parliament have prepared a draft Bill that allows them to switch service and join the same post in the civil service.
Besides, the Bill proposes the retirement age of parliament employees as 60. At present, the retirement age is 58. The parliament decided to send the Bill to the concerned committee for discussion.

Govt publicizes Rayamajhi report
The government on Friday tabled the Rayamajhi Commission report in parliament.
Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula on behalf of the government tabled the report and made it public.
The report is available for the public at the library of the Parliamentary Secretariat, said Speaker Nembang.
Earlier, Speaker Subash Nembang had directed the government to table and publicizes the report at the earliest.
Despite criticism and demands from several quarters, the government had delayed in making the report public.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Singha Durban on Wednesday had taken a decision to table the report in parliament today.
The 1184-page report has recommended action against over 200 people.
Details of the action taken against some of the guilty have also been tabled in parliament today.
The report, however, does not clearly recommend any action against the king.
The commission though had summoned the king to record his statement, the king had snubbed the call.
Out of 297 persons quizzed by the commission, 96 have been given clean chits.
The commission has recommended action against 34 members of the royal cabinet, five zonal administrators and 13 zonal administrators by formulating necessary laws.
The commission has recommended action against former ministers Kamal Thapa, Shrish Sumsher Rana and Tanka Dhakal on corruption and rights abuse charges. Some of the king-led ministers were charged of human rights violations, some on corruption cases and some on both accounts.
Thapa, Rana and Dhakal have been found to have doled out state coffers in millions of rupees to suppress the Jana Andolan II.
The commission has also recommend actions against Nepal Army personnel except the then Chief of Army Staff as per the provision of Army Act, 2016. However, it has asked the government to formulate necessary laws to take action against former army Chief Pyar Jung Thapa.
The commission also has recommended action against Nepal Army Generals Kul Bahadur Khadka, Kiran Shumshre Rana and Dipak Bikram Rana.
Similarly, the commission has also recommended actions against 22 civil servants and 25 army personnel.
It has also recommended action against the then chairman of dissolved Raj Parishad, Parashu Narayan Chaudhary and its members Bharat Keshari Singh and late Sachchit Shumshr Rana. Action has been recommended against the then election commissioner Keshav Raj Rajbhandari.
It has also recommend actions against 70 Nepal Police personnel and 20 Armed Police Force personnel.
The commission suggested that 14 personnel of the Nepal Police and seven of the APF be prosecuted on attempted murder charges.
The commission has recommended departmental action against incumbent Chief of Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal, Chief of Armed Police Force Basudev Oli and former chief of National Investigation Department, Devi Ram Sharma.
Shortly after the commission submitted its report to the government last year, the government had formed a committee headed by the then deputy prime minister KP Sharma Oli to study the report before recommending action against the guilty.
The Rayamajhi Commission -- formed under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court Justice Krishna Jung Rayamajhi to probe into the atrocities committed by the erstwhile royal regime during the April uprising last year – had submitted its report to the government on November 20 last year.
The government had formed the high level commission on May 5 last year.

SC notice to govt to redeem cops’ honour

The Supreme Court on wednesday issued show cause notices to government authorities on a 20-year-old conviction of two policemen in a case of stolen revolvers.A single bench of Justice Tahir Ali Ansari has given the Centre Region Police Special Court, Government Joint Attorney Rajendra Subedi, Lalitpur Chief District Officer Ananda Raj Pokhrel and Superintendent of Police Madhav Prasad Nepal 15 days to file affidavits in the court.The bench was acting on a writ petition filed by former head constable of Nepal Police, Yagya Bahadur KC, who had to spend seven years in jail and pay a hefty fine though he was not the one to steal the two revolvers from the National Police Academy at Maharajgunj 20 years ago.The Centre Region Police Special Court had also jailed another policeman, Khul Bahadur Kunwar, for four years on the same charge. The matter took an interesting turn in 2003 when, out of the blue, another policeman, Ghanashyam Adhikary, admitted to stealing the guns.

Judges' Panel for Action Against Corrupt

The Supreme Court judges' panel, formed to investigate alleged conversations between Rajesh Shakya and SC section officer Baburam Dahal over attempting to influence a case, submitted its report yesterday.The three-member panel has concluded that the conversation between the two had no grounds to influence the court verdict, but suggested the authority take departmental action against corrupt officials and adopt policies and programmes to promote people's confidence in the judiciary.Assistant Spokesperson of the Supreme Court Hemanta Rawal told journalists that the panel comprising judges Top Bahadur Magar, Damodar Prasad Sharma and Ram Kumar Prasad Shah submitted the report to the Chief Justice.After receiving the report, the CJ asked Registrar Dr Ram Krishna Timalsena to forward it to the next full court meeting for necessary action."The panel has concluded that the conversation between Dahal and Shakya had no grounds to influence the court verdicts," Rawal said, citing the report.He added that verdicts issued in the cases were genuine and the conversations had not affected them in any manner.The panel had interrogated 19 persons involved in the case.

Attempt to murder case against 11

The District Administration Office (DAO) Dolakha has filed attempt to murder case against 11 Maoist cadres involved in attacking Chief District Officer (CDO) Uddhab Bahadur Thapa and vandalizing his office on Sunday.
The authorities also filed public offence cases against 17 Maoists who are in police custody for their alleged involvement in the attack while four others were found innocent and freed after preliminary investigation, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Haribhakta Prajapati.
A Maoist group that reached the DA's office on Sunday to pressure the authorities to revoke a case filed earlier against Maoist leader Bishal Khadka, had assaulted CDO Thapa and vandalized the office.
The Maoists who were accused of attempt to murder are Kiran Dahal, Raju Karki (Prashun), Mohan Thapa, Dhruva Karki, Raj Kumar Basnet, Narayan Thapamagar, Tirtha Lama, Ajay Lama, Tirtha Raj Tamang, Dev Raj Tamang and Dawa Sherpa, according to DSP Prajapati.
However, Shiva Khadka, Bhim Lama, Amrit Lama and Bijay Yonjan were later released, police said.