National
Cannot defend Karki in impeachment case: AG
The Office of the Attorney General has said it cannot defend the suspended chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Lokman Singh Karki, because of the impeachment motion against him but it was its duty to defend the government’s decision to appoint him to head the constitutional body.
The Office of the Attorney General has said it cannot defend the suspended chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Lokman Singh Karki, because of the impeachment motion against him but it was its duty to defend the government’s decision to appoint him to head the constitutional body.
At a press meet organised in the Capital on Friday, Attorney General Raman Shrestha said the body responsible for defending the government’s decisions has no right to defend the person against whom an impeachment motion has been registered in Parliament.
The AG’s Office would have no role in a case if anybody appealed to the court against the impeachment motion, which is a parliamentary prerogative.
“We defend the government and the stance it takes. In Karki’s case, it is a motion of impeachment against a single person, where the AG’s Office will have no role to play,” Shrestha told the press conference.
The attorney general, if asked by Parliament, could, however, provide his opinion in the case without being directly involved in it.
Shrestha said there was no provision for his direct involvement in the impeachment procedure.
However, the AG’s Office would defend the Karki’s appointment as the CIAA chief in the Supreme Court case of reviewing the verdict on a writ filed by Advocate Om Prakash Aryal.
A full bench of Chief Justice Sushila Karki and Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha had, on September 16, granted permission for reviewing the SC’s earlier verdict considering two major premises of Karki’s appointment: his tenure in the government service and his “moral authority” to head the constitutional body.
Advocate Aryal had moved the court, claiming Karki’s appointment to be unconstitutional.
A division bench of Justices Gopal Parajuli and Om Prakash Mishra on September 24, 2014, had quashed the petition.
Aryal on November 24 last year registered an appeal at the SC again, seeking a review.
In response to the petition, a bench of Justices Dipak Kumar Karki, Bishwambhar Shrestha and Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada had, on August 26, asked the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of General Administration to present documents, including the Cabinet decision, related to Karki’s appointment.