Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has called a meeting of the Constitutional Council (CC) on Wednesday afternoon to recommend names to fill the vacant constitutional positions, including the Chief Justice.

The meeting would recommend the name of Chief Justice and chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

Speaker of the House of Representatives Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who is also a member of the council, said he had received an invitation to the council meeting at 4pm on Wednesday.

The Parliamentary Party leader of the main opposition has also been invited to the meeting, but there are doubts whether he would attend it. “Leader Sher Bahadur Deuba has received the invitation for the council meeting. He has yet to decide whether to participate,” said Bhanu Deuba, aide to Congress President Deuba.  If Deuba attends Wednesday’s meeting, he is expected to raise the issue of Deepak Raj Joshee’s rejection by the Parliamentary Hearing Committee as Chief Justice. The council  has to recommend a new name for the top job at the Judiciary after the House committee rejected Joshee.

Of the three senior most justices recommended by the Judicial Council for Chief Justice, the CC had picked the then chief justice Deepak Raj Joshee for the post on June 12 and forwarded the name for the parliamentary hearing.

Sources claimed the CC would pick acting Chief Justice Om Prakash Mishra for the top judiciary post.

The council is likely to pick names for the posts of chief commissioner and commissioner which have been lying vacant at the anti-graft body since February 13.

Nabin Kumar Ghimire has been working as acting chief commissioner at the CIAA after Deep Basnyat retired as its chief on the age ground. Ganesh Raj Joshi, Raj Narayan Pathak and Sabitri Gurung are commissioners at the CIAA.