The Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee (PHSC) on Wednesday started hearing of Supreme Court justice nominees. The hearing, scheduled to start on July 17, had been “postponed until further notice” after PHSC Chairman Kul Bahadur Gurung called in sick. 

The postponement had come amid rapid political development, in which the CPN (Maoist Centre), the key partner of the CPN-UML government, had withdrawn its support, fuelling speculations whether the Maoist Centre and the Nepali Congress had any reservations about the nominations and whether the hearing had been deliberately deferred.

The Judicial Council on March 1 had recommended Deepak Kumar Karki, Kedar Prasad Chalise, Sharada Prasad Ghimire, Meera Khadka, Hari Krishna Karki, Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha, Ishwar Khatiwada, Ananda Mohan Bhattarai, Anil Kumar Sinha, Prakash Raut and Sapana Pradhan Malla as SC justices and forwarded the names to PHSC for their hearing.

The NC had objected to the nomination of Sapana Pradhan Malla, who was a member in the first Constituent Assembly representing the UML. The hearing of SC justice nominees, however, began on Wednesday after, according to sources, the NC and the Maoist Centre “agreed to allow the PHSC to move ahead with the hearing process”. On Wednesday, hearing of justice nominee Hari Krishna Karki, former president of Nepal Bar Association, was conducted. Karki also had served as the attorney general for a brief period. 

Karki, who is said to be close to the UML, said during the hearing that if he is appointed SC justice, he would carry out his duties in a professional way, leaving behind his past political affiliations. 

“I will leave my political affiliation behind and discharge my duties in the best professional way possible,” Karki replied when he was asked how a politically-affiliated person can deliver justice impartially. The PHSC is scheduled to conduct hearing of SC justice nominees Chalise, Ghimire, Karki, Khadka and Shrestha in the first phase. Eleven names have been recommended for SC justices.