The Parliamentary Impeachment Recommendation Committee has been recording statement from the suspended Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana on the supplementary questions. Committee secretary Laxmi Prasad Gautam said the Committee members have been grilling the suspended Chief Justice on the supplementary questions. The recording of statement from Rana is in progress at Singha Durbar at present.
“The senior advocates and advocates were questioned on Thursday in course of investigation. Some supplementary questions also came up during the questioning. Today we will conclude the discussion and start preparing the report,” he said.
As he said the Committee is preparing to finalise the report and submit it by tomorrow as the term of the House of Representatives is terminating from midnight on Saturday. Although the Committee decided to call the incumbent justices of the Supreme Court, former chief justices, senior advocates and advocates to question them on the questions came up in course of recording statement from the suspended Chief Justice, The Supreme Court justices said that they could not be present in the Committee to face questions as doing so would be against the principle of the separation of power. The former chief justices also sent a letter to the Committee arguing that they could not deposit themselves at the Committee meeting.
After this, the Committee took statements from the senior advocates and advocates only. Ninety-eight HoR lawmakers had registered an impeachment motion against Rana on February 13. The parliament formed the IRC after that but the Committee held its first meeting on August 17. Nepal Bar Association and the Supreme Court Bar Association submitted a 34-point indictment paper against Rana. The indictment paper includes the basis and the reasons for impeaching Rana.
The episode of the Committee grilling the suspended Chief Justice and the latter replying to these questions will conclude today. However, there is widespread concern regarding the fate of the Committee’s report as it is the fag end when the term of the parliament is ending.
