Anti-corruption campaigner Dr Govinda KC on Saturday announced another round of hunger strike from March 13, this time against the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

The senior orthopaedic surgeon has put forth a two-point demand including impeachment of Chief Justice Gopal Prasad Parajuli and implementation of the report submitted by the high-level commission led by Gauri Bahadur Karki, former chairperson of the Special Court, recommending action against top Tribhuvan University officials linked with decisions on medical education.

In a statement, Dr KC alleged CJ Parajuli’s involvement in many illegal activities including “institutionalisation of corruption in the judiciary” and “hijacking press freedom”. He demanded that CJ Parajuli resign or an impeachment motion be filed against him in Parliament. “He should be investigated and action taken against,” reads the statement issued by the TU professor.

Speaking to the Post, Dr KC urged the government to address his demands. “I respect the judiciary. But the way the incumbent chief justice is running it will harm us all,” he said. “He [Parajuli] should be brought down from his position and all his deeds investigated.”

Dr KC targeted CJ Parajuli after the apex court decided to reinstate Dr Shashi Sharma as the dean of the TU Institute of Medicine on January 7. Dr KC announced his indefinite fast arguing that the court’s decision to reinstate Dr Sharma was a “systematic effort to affiliate new [medical] colleges and to imperil medical education in the country”. He had embarked on his fast on January 8 demanding CJ Parajuli’s resignation and action against him. However, he was rounded up the same evening on contempt of court charges, leading to his trial in the court.

Ever since, Dr KC has sought probe into the citizenship and academic certificates of CJ Parajuli, charging him with lacking the transfer certificate and using multiple dates of birth in official documents. The CJ is found to have submitted multiple documents to government bodies, showing four different dates of birth.

Dr KC has also urged the government to implement the high-level commission’s report. The Karki-led panel had submitted its report recommending action against 43 individuals, including top TU officials, to then-prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on January 6. The panel has suggested action against TU Vice-chancellor Tirtha Raj Khaniya, Registrar Dilli Upreti and Rector Sudha Tripathi, among others, for their “dubious” roles in granting affiliation to private medical schools. The commission has blamed their “leadership” for the “deteriorating quality of medical education” in the country.

The report has yet to be made public.