KATHMANDU, Nov 21: The Supreme Court (SC) has sought clarification from the Constitutional Council and other government bodies regarding their decision to appoint four commissioner in the anti-graft body, CIAA.
Janamat party seeks clarification from Madhesh CM Singh
Responding to a writ petition filed by advocate Daksha Bahadur Chhetri, a single bench of Chief Justice Sushila Karki on Sunday sought clarification from the Constitutional Council, Office of the Prime Minister and Office of the President to furnish clarification in writing within 15 days.
The writ petition, which was filed following the apex court's decision to revisit the eligibility of chief commissioner Lokman Singh Karki, has claimed that commissioners Deep Kumar Basnyat, Nabin Kumar Ghimire, Sabitri Gurung and Ganesh Raj Joshi also do not meet the criteria for the job. The petitioner has claimed that except for Commissioner Raj Narayan Pathak, the other commissioners do not meet the criteria for the job set out in the constitution.
Article 238(6) of the Constitution, has a provision that says one should have at least 20 years of experience in the fields of either accounting, revenue, engineering, law, development or research and he/she should be a person of distinction to hold commissioner's position.
Commissioners Basnyat, Ghimire and Joshi, who came from the civil service, and professor Gurung do not meet the criteria set out in the constitution, claims the petition. The writ petitioner has claimed that since the constitution has not envisioned experience in the civil service as a required qualification, the commissioners except for Pathak are not eligible for the office.
