PHSC summons chief secretary, foreign secretary over ambassadors' agrément row
KATHMANDU, Aug 1: Parliamentary Hearings Special Committee (PHSC) has unanimously confirmed the 11 nominees for Supreme Court justices on Sunday.
 
The committee sent a letter to the Judicial Council on the same day informing about the confirmations. The Judicial Council had recommended Deepak Kumar Karki, Kedar Prasad Chalise, Sharada Prasad Ghimire, Mira Khadka, Hari Krishna Karki, Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha, Ishwar Khatiwada, Aananda Mohan Bhattarai, Prakash Raut, Anil Sinha and Sapana Pradhan Malla on March 1 for appointment as SC justices.
 
Three complaints had been received against two nominees and ten other complaints had been filed claiming flaws in the constitutional provision relating to the recommendations. After grilling the nominees at the committee meeting the 15-member hearings committee unanimously confirmed them Sunday.

However the committee has drawn the attention of the Judicial Council over the hierarchy of the nominees. According to a committee member, Attorney General Hari Krishna Karki has been found to have been placed ahead of the two other appellate court chief judges, who were senior to Karki.  "The committee expresses its concern over the hierarchy of nominees sent by the judicial council and urges the council to consider this issue in its recommendations," reads the decision of the committee.

Similarly the parliamentary special panel has also drawn the attention of the council to consider inclusive and proportional representation while making recommendations in the future.

Of the 11, four are likely to become chief justice at the Apex Court in the future based on hierarchy and age. After the incumbent head of judiciary Sushila Karki retires in June 2017 due to age limit, Gopal Parajuli, Deepak Raj Joshi and Cholendra Samser Rana are in the trajectory to become CJ.

Karki will head the judiciary for eight months, Shrestha for a year, Raut for one year and five months and Malla for three year and seven months if the Chief Justice appointment is held based on the hierarchy. The hearings process had been delayed for months in lack of new parliamentary regulations.

PHSC summons chief secretary, foreign secretary over ambassadors' agrément row

Meanwhile the PHSC has summoned Chief Secretary Som Lal Subedi and Foreign Secretary Shankar Bairagi in the committee on Monday to discuss the agrément row regarding ambassadors' nominees.
"It has been learnt that the cabinet has already decided to send letters to respective countries for sending agréments for ambassadors' nominees. If this is true, this undermines the parliamentary supremacy," said Nepali Congress Chief Whip Chinkaji Shrestha.
 
NC lawmakers in the committee, Prakash Sharan Mahat and Balkrishna Khand had demanded probe into the issue before starting hearings on 22 ambassadorial nominees for different countries. The committee on Sunday opened nine complaints registered against the ambassadorial nominees and distributed them to the committee members for study.

 
• parliamentary hearings special committee