Valley
Impeachment plaint dropped against SC justice
The Impeachment Recommendation Committee of Parliament has scrapped the complaint against Supreme Court Justice Anand Mohan Bhattarai arguing that it lacked enough facts and proofs for impeachment.The Impeachment Recommendation Committee of Parliament has scrapped the complaint against Supreme Court Justice Anand Mohan Bhattarai arguing that it lacked enough facts and proofs for impeachment.
A meeting of the committee on Tuesday concluded that the complaint filed by Rukmini Chaudhari of the Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch (Tharuhat), Haricharan Sah of the Nepali Janata Dal and Ram Kumar Rai of the Khambuwan Rastriya Morcha was baseless.
Concluding that the complaint had tarnished Bhattarai’s image, the panel directed the Parliament Secretariat to check evidence before registering impeachment complaints in the future.
Based on the accusation from Dinesh Chaudhary, the three lawmakers from the fringe parties on August 4 registered the complaint at the secretariat. The Supreme Court registrar had refused to register a case by Dinesh, where he demanded a directive against all the academic institutions in the country to hold the examinations on time. Justice Bhattarai upheld the registrar’s decision, which accordingly to Dinesh was justice denied. The lawmakers, agreeing to his argument, registered the proposal in Parliament. Bhattarai is among the 11 justices who joined the apex court on August 1. He is also a member of the full bench assigned to hear the case against suspended chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority Lokman Singh Karki.
“There has to be solid background for registering serious complaints like impeachment,” said Rewati Raman Bhandari, a member of the committee. “The complaint did not have any proof. It can be registered only if one is found to be working against the constitution and his/her mandate.”
An 11-member IRC was formed on October 19 to investigate into impeachment complaints or motions filed against any official holding a constitutional position.
Three lawmakers can file an impeachment complaint, which after investigation by the IRC is either sent to the House or rejected. An impeachment motion, however, is registered by one third of the total lawmakers in the House which is sent to the IRC only after discussion. The IRC cannot directly reject the motion but can recommend that the House scrap it if it lacks adequate proof. The Parliament bears the right to reject or accept such recommendations.
According to another member of the committee, the House has to be serious not to entertain baseless complaints, which only tarnish the image of a person. “This is a breach of jurisdiction by the lawmakers. Such practice should be discouraged,” he said requesting anonymity. Asked why the impeachment complaint was filed without proof and facts, Sah said they enjoyed the constitutional right.