Kathmandu, February 2
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s plan of appointing officials of various constitutional commissions has hit another roadblock as Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Rana has denied participating in a Constitutional Council meeting called by the prime minister.
Oli had called the meeting for Tuesday evening and later postponed it to Wednesday evening, but it was ultimately cancelled as CJ Rana said he could not attend the meeting because he is currently leading the Supreme Court bench that is hearing a case against Oli‘s decision to dissolve the House of Representatives.
With Rana’s denial, there was only National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timisina ready to join the meeting. However, the two of Oli and Timilsina could not be sufficient for the quorum required for the meeting even if Oli has already introduced an amendment to the Constitutional Council Act to clear his ways.
Earlier, on December 15, 2020, a meeting of the council attended by Oli, Rana and Timilsina had recommended officials for various constitutional positions. Apparently, in his deliberate efforts to avoid the parliamentary hearing required for such appointments, Oli had forwarded the names to the Parliament Secretariat only after dissolving the House on December 20.
The House Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota had sent back the nominations to the council on Sunday, which Timilsina had objected to.
Sources say Oli was planning to recommend their appointment without hearing citing the speaker’s decision to return the nominations.
