KATHMANDU, May 3: Parliament meeting on Thursday is set to fix the date for discussion on the impeachment motion filed against Chief Justice Sushila Karki, according to the Parliament Secretariat. 

As many as 249 lawmakers from Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Center) filed the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Karki at the Parliament Secretariat on April 30.

The Parliamentary Regulations has a mandatory provision to fix the date for discussion on any impeachment motion within seven days of the registration of the motion.

Spokesperson for the Parliament Secretariat, Bharat Gautam said that Speaker Onsari Gharti will announce the date for discussion on the motion at the House meeting at Thursday 3 pm.

According to Rule 168 of the Parliamentary Regulations, lawmakers proposing the impeachment motion will be asked to table the motion in the House for discussion on the slated date, after the Speaker announces the discussion date. 

After the preliminary discussions on the motion, a full House meeting will forward the impeachment motion to the 11-member Impeachment Recommendation Committee (IRC) of parliament for further investigation into the allegations made in the motion.  The impeachment motion has made nine various allegations against Karki, including failure to honor the independence of the judiciary, encroaching upon the jurisdiction of the executive and ignoring evidence while deciding verdicts on writ petitions related to the appointment of the police chief.

The IRC must submit its investigation report, along with recommendation over whether the impeachment motion should be processed further or dropped, to the speaker within a month after receiving the motion from the House. 

In the past, the IRC had suggested not impeaching disqualified chief of Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Lokman Singh Karki, stating that he had already been removed from the post by the Supreme Court. Lawmakers say the IRC is unlikely to suggest impeachment against CJ Karki, as her tenure is expiring next month before the IRC can finalize its report. 

 
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