A Nepal Bar Association (NBA) request to the Supreme Court to postpone hearings scheduled for Thursday—if the lawyers involved call for deferral—could mean the scheduled hearing on Lokman Singh Karki’s case may not take place.
A Nepal Bar Association (NBA) request to the Supreme Court to postpone hearings scheduled for Thursday—if the lawyers involved call for deferral—could mean the scheduled hearing on Lokman Singh Karki’s case may not take place.
On December 2, the apex court, however, had said the next hearing set for December 22 will not be put off again.
The NBA, an umbrella organisation of lawyers, on Thursday is marking the Bar Day and organising various programmes.
Karki remains suspended as the chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority as he is facing an impeachment charge in Parliament. Advocate Om Prakash Aryal has challenged Karki’s appointment as the CIAA chief.
The hearing on Karki case on December 2 was postponed after Bal Krishna Neupane, one of Karki’s lawyers, expressed inability to appear in court “due to health reasons”. A full bench of Justices Jagdish Sharma Poudel, Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada and Anand Mohan Bhattarai had then set the hearing date for December 22 (Thursday), saying: “The hearing will not be delayed again at the request of either party.”
The NBA in a letter sent to the SC has requested the court to uphold the request of the lawyers if they seek postponement of hearings of their cases. The NBA has also apprised the SC of various programmes it is organising to mark the Bar Day.
When asked about the NBA letter and chances of postponement of Karki hearing, Aryal said: “Karki’s is a significant case. Any further delay will be unjust and can have consequences.”
There is no definite answer to whether the bench overlooked the date and made an innocuous omission while rescheduling Karki’s hearing for December 22 or Poush 7 when the NBA observed the Bar Day.
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