Skip to main content

SC set to hear all cases against Karki on Dec 1


Dewan Rai

The Supreme Court (SC) is set to hear all five cases against Lok Man Singh Karki, the suspended chief of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, on December 1.

A full bench of Justices Jagadish Sharma Paudel, Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada and Ananda Mohan Bhattarai on Thursday set the date for the hearing. The bench was responding to a writ filed by Advocate Om Prakash Aryal. 

“The court has decided to start hearing on all cases related to Karki beginning December 1,” said Bishwaraj Poudel, joint spokesperson for the SC. Poudel also informed that Karki on Thursday had sent his legal representative to the court to seek additional time in a case that challenges his appointment.

On October 17, Karki was served a court notice asking him to appear before the court in relation to a petition filed at the SC in which his appointment as the chief of the anti-graft body has been challenged. Advocate Aryal had challenged Karki’s appointment as the CIAA chief, saying the entire appointment process was unlawful as “Karki’s tenure in government service falls short of what has been provisioned in the constitution and he does not hold high moral character to lead the anti-graft body” as enshrined in the constitution.

The SC on September 17 had decided to review its earlier verdict regarding Karki’s appointment and on September 21 issued summons to him. But the notice could not be delivered till October 17 due to various reasons. On one occasion, ward officials, whose presence was necessary for pasting the summons at Karki’s house, failed to show up, while on the other, a court official tasked with delivering the summons “suddenly disappeared”. The SC’s yet another attempt to serve the notice was foiled by a group of locals comprising Karki’s aides. The court officials had finally managed to paste the SC notice at Karki’s house in Naya Baneshwor on October 17.

As per the rule, Karki should have responded within 15 days from the day of delivery of the notice. But Karki’s legal representative showed up at court on Thursday only, almost after three weeks. 

Aryal has filed another case against Karki and his supporters at the SC for “obstructing legal proceedings” by trying to prevent court officials from delivering the summons. In a supplementary application filed at the SC, Aryal has also demanded an interim order to terminate all the facilities given to Karki. 

Karki’s legal representative on Thursday also received Tuesday’s court order in which Karki and his aides have been asked to appear before court in seven days to face the charge of obstructing judicial proceedings.

“There are altogether five cases against Karki. The hearing on all cases will start on December 1,” said Aryal. “But Karki, along with his aids involved in obstructing court officials in the course of their duty, must appear before court in person within seven days.”
Karki was appointed chief of the anti-graft body by then Khil Raj Regmi government in May 2013 following a political agreement among major parties. His appointment to the post was hugely criticised and debated.

After a little more than three years after installing Karki in the constitutional office, more than 150 lawmakers from the CPN (Maoist Centre) and the CPN-UML on October 19 filed an impeachment motion against Karki at the Parliament Secretariat.
--------------------------------
-    Sept 17: A Supreme Court full bench decides to review its earlier verdict on Karki’s appointment as the CIAA chief
-    Sept 21: SC issues summons to Karki to present himself before court within 15 days from receiving the order
-    Oct 17: Court delivers summons in third attempt after two failed attempts due to various reasons—one of them was obstruction by a group of locals comprising Karki’s aides
-    Oct 21: A supplementary application filed at SC demanding an order to terminate all facilities given to Karki
-    Nov 3: Case filed against Karki and his aides, accusing them of abusing authority to obstruct judicial proceedings
-    Nov 8: SC orders Karki and his aides to appear before court in person in seven days to face charge of obstructing judicial proceedings
- Nov 10: SC decides to hear all five cases against Karki on December 1

Published: The Kathmandu Post 11-11-2016

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India Government raises grant for Nepal by 17 percent

India Government raises grant for Nepal by 17 percent The Indian government has pledged to extend 17 percent more in financial aid to Nepal in the next fiscal year, indicating greater enthusiasm of the southern neighbour to support the landlocked country’s development endeavours. The Indian government has allocated a grant of IRs3.75 billion (Rs6 billion) for Nepal in 2017-18, as against IRs3.20 in 2016-17. The allocation was made through the Union Budget 2017-18 launched by Indian Finance Minister Arjun Jaitely on Wednesday.  In addition to the amount, India has also pledged to extend a grant of IRs113.30 million to Nepal Police Academy in 2017-18, the Indian budget document says. The grant pledged for Nepal in 2017-18 is second highest among South Asian countries, with Bhutan leading the pack. The Indian government has expressed commitment to extend IRs37.14 billion in grant to Bhutan in 2017-18. The amount, however, is 4 percent lower than in 2016-17. In total, Ind...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nepal to discuss new power trade guidelines with India

The Energy Ministry is planning to hold talks with the Indian Power Ministry over its recently issued discriminatory guidelines on cross-border power trade which prohibit private and third country hydropower developers in Nepal from exporting electricity to India with a one-time approval. According to the Guidelines on Cross-Border Trade of Electricity published by the Indian government last Monday, only companies in Nepal which are wholly owned by the Indian government or the public sector, or private companies with a 51 percent or higher Indian stake would be eligible to export power to India. These companies will be given a one-time approval to sell power to India, according to the guidelines. Also, companies owned or controlled by the Nepali government will be allowed to sell power to India after getting a one-time approval from the Indian authorities, according to the new rules. However, private companies owned by Nepali or third country developers wishing to export power to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Protests, clashes in Province 5 districts over demarcations

With the government bent on tabling the constitution amendment bill in parliament, protests have intensified again in various districts of western and mid-western regions after a gap of few days. Protests that had been toned down earlier in view of the hardships caused to the locals, have now been intensified from Friday with an announcement of a three-day general strike in all districts of Province 5. 'Joint struggle committees' comprising leaders of major political parties in the districts--Nawalparasi, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Rukum, Rolpa, Pyuthan, Arghakhanchi, Gulmi and Palpa--announced the strike against government preparations to table the amendment proposal in parliament. The strike has largely affected vehicular movement while schools, government offices, factories and markets remained closed.  Tensions ran high in Gulmi, Nepalgunj of Banke and Rolpa after the protestors prevented locals from using all kinds of vehicles. Over 24 prot...
Post a Comment
Read more