INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, MARCH 13The House of Representatives will discuss the impeachment motion filed against Chief Justice
Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana from Wednesday.
Impeachment motion against CJ Rana tabled in HoR meeting
Impeachment motion against CJ Rana next agenda in HoR
Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota announced this today in the HoR after CPN-Maoist Centre Chief Whip
Devendra Prasad Gurung, one of the movers of the impeachment motion, sought a debate on the motion in the Lower House of the Parliament.
The speaker adjourned the HoR till Wednesday amidst continued obstruction by CPN- UML lawmakers.A total of 98 lawmakers from
the ruling coalition parties, including Gurung, had registered the impeachment motion against Rana at the Parliament Secretariat on February
13.Lawmakers from three coalition partners - the Nepali Congress, the CPN-MC, and the CPN (Unified Socialist) - had filed the impeachment
motion against Rana invoking Article 101 (2) of the constitution, listing 21 grounds for impeachment against him.Gurung read out the
impeachment motion in the House, including 21 allegations against Rana.He said the impeachment motion was filed against Rana because he
failed to uphold democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and independence of the judiciary
Gurung said that Rana had sought a quid pro quo deal from the executive and the Judicial Council.He said Chief Justice Rana promoted corrupt
behaviour, anomalies, and aberration in the judiciary
He said brokering thrived in the judiciary during Rana's term and he assigned cases to his favourite judges and Rana promoted factionalism
in the judiciary.Gurung said the impeachment motion was moved against Rana as all other avenues to check him had failed.The Nepal Bar
Association, which first sought Rana's resignation and later urged political parties to impeach him, continues to protest against
Rana.Dissident justices that boycotted benches agreed to hear cases only after the SC went for lottery-based cause list
Dissident justices had also decided not to share a bench with Rana.Gurung said since Rana did not fulfil the pledge he had made to the
Parliamentary Hearing Committee during his hearing, he was unfit for the post of chief justice.In today's House meeting, CPN-UML lawmaker
Bhim Rawal and Nepal Workers and Peasants Party lawmaker Prem Suwal opposed India's 'unilateral dam building' on the Mahakali River near
Darchula district.A version of this article appears in the print on March 14, 2022, of The Himalayan Times
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com