Hearing on petition against appointments to constitutional bodies postponed

NL Today

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Kathmandu: The hearing on a writ petition filed against appointments to constitutional bodies made by the erstwhile KP Sharma Oli-led government has been postponed on Wednesday.

The Constitutional Bench at the apex court postponed the hearing after legal practitioners from the defendants objected arguing that the hearing can’t be held as summon has not been issued to the defendants.

Senior advocate Sushil Pant expressed his objection to the bench saying that the summon has not been issued to the defendants and a written response should be demanded from them as well.

Pant has also submitted a supplementary application to the bench on Wednesday, seeking an order to demand a written response from the defendants including the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). After Pant submitted the application, Chief Justice Karki issued an order to seek a written response.

A Constitutional Bench comprising of Acting Chief Justice Deepak Kumar Karki and Justices Meera Khadka, Hari Krishna Karki, Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha, and Ishwor Khatiwada is hearing the case.

Earlier the bench had issued a show-cause notice to defendants on a writ filed against the appointment.

The erstwhile KP Sharma Oli-led government, through the Constitutional Council, had recommended various individuals for appointment to different vacant posts of the constitutional bodies by amending the Constitutional Council Act.

As the House of Representatives was dissolved when the recommendations were made, the recommended persons were appointed without completing the parliamentary hearing process.