National
Crusader tells CJ Parajuli to resign
Dr Govinda KC on Saturday asked Chief Justice (CJ) Gopal Parajuli to resign from his post saying that he has been disrupting the judicial investigation against him.Manish Gautam
Dr Govinda KC on Saturday asked Chief Justice (CJ) Gopal Parajuli to resign from his post saying that he has been disrupting the judicial investigation against him.
Dr KC said that the evidence gathered by their legal team has shown that CJ Parajuli has been directly involved in influencing the investigation ordered by the Supreme Court on his citizenship and academic certificates. The crusader fighting for reforms in medical education said the influence exerted by the CJ is apparent. Recently the SC refused to register a contempt of court case against CJ Parajuli.
“We have also found that CJ Parajuli has not submitted his character certificate to judicial council,” said Dr KC.
Controversy over Parajuli’s correct date of birth simmers. Evidence shows CJ Parajuli had submitted multiple documents to government bodies that clearly show four different dates of birth.
CJ Parajuli’s first date of birth published by the Judicial Council is August 5, 1952 when he was the chief judge of an Appellate Court. Another citizenship record shows his date of birth as April 25, 1953. These two dates contradict those mentioned in his educational certificates. A citizenship copy obtained by Parajuli from the Kathmandu District Administration Office shows his date of birth as April 28, 1953. Another document that verifies CJ Parajuli had passed class 10 shows his date of birth as April 25, 1954.
One of the major charges CJ Parajuli faces is using his political and administrative clouts to change his date of birth so that his term as CJ could be extended. Had his original date of birth been the same in all documents, he would already have been retired given the age bar of 65.
“Parajuli has used so many different birth dates to elevate himself to various government positions that he does not have the moral right to continue working in the Supreme Court,” said Dr KC. “Such contradictory personal information calls for criminal investigation against him.”
The issue of the citizenship certificates of CJ Parajuli and their validity arose after the SC decided to reinstate Dr Shashi Sharma as the Dean of Institute of Medicine on January 7. Dr KC began his fast-unto-death stating that the court’s decision to reinstate Dr Sharma was a “systematic effort to affiliate new colleges and imperil medical education in the country”. He had begun the fast demanding resignation and action against CJ Parajuli. However, that same night Dr KC was arrested on contempt of court charges leading to his hearing at the court.
Dr KC was freed on January 9 and on January 10 the apex court decided to probe the authenticity of CJ Parajuli’s citizenship and educational certificates. Dr KC has been ordered to appear before the court for hearing on February 20. “We went to district administration office Kathmandu and Tanahun seeking citizenship copy of CJ Parajuli. However, we were denied information,” said Dr KC. “Our fight is against the corrupt chief justice. I respect the judiciary and the court.”
Dates in dispute
First: August 5, 1952
Second: April 25, 1953
Third: April 28, 1953
Fourth: April 25, 1954