Miscellaneous
SC stay on police chief appointment continues
The government’s decision to appoint Deputy Inspector General Jaya Bahadur Chand as the chief of Nepal Police continues to remain in a state of limbo,The government’s decision to appoint Deputy Inspector General Jaya Bahadur Chand as the chief of Nepal Police continues to remain in a state of limbo, as the Supreme Court on Wednesday continued its previous stay order, in which it has asked the authorities not to implement the decision.
A division bench of Justices Hari Krishna Karki and Tej Bahadur KC on Wednesday said the next hearing should be scheduled three days after the defendants submit their clarifications to the apex court.
The bench observed that the Ministry of Home Affairs had failed to stick to the Rule 41 of Nepal Police Regulations and evaluate seniority, performance, skill and ability to bear responsibility as well as lead, encourage and mobilise the juniors while appointing a person for the top job in the law enforcement agency. The government has not clarified the basis of making the appointment, the bench observed.
In two separate writ petitions filed by advocate Kapil Dev Dhakal and DIG Nawaraj Silwal, one of the aspirants for the position, the court on February 12 and 13 had issued stay orders against the Cabinet decision to appoint Chand as police chief.
Stating that he is the senior among the four DIGs eligible to be the chief of Nepal Police, Silwal in his petition had staked claimed to the post.
After the court’s stay order, the government on February 13 had appointed Dinesh Chandra Pokharel as acting AIG to avoid leadership vacuum in the security force.
The government attorneys had argued that picking the chief of Nepal Police was the Cabinet’s discretion and no rule had been violated by the appointment.