KATHMANDU, JUNE 17
Newly appointed Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki has only until August 4 to serve the judiciary, but the legal fraternity expects him to initiate some major reforms which his successors will be bound to follow and even expand on.
Lawyers say CJ Karki will do a great job if he can appoint judges immediately, ensure merit-based selection at all levels of the judiciary, implement automation-based cause list, get his own report endorsed by the full court (all judges of SC) and enforce the compliance of Judicial Council Act which requires the JC to nominate the next CJ one month before the end of the incumbent CJ's tenure.
CJ Karki had led a panel that investigated allegations of anomalies and irregularities in the judiciary and submitted the report to then CJ Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana in July 2021. The Karki-led panel had suggested that the judiciary adopt automation-based cause list and control the activities of middlemen and brokers, among other things.
Senior Advocate Radheshyam Adhikari, who is also a former lawmaker, said if CJ Karki initiated automation-based cause list that would address the current problems to a large extent.
At present the Supreme Court uses lottery-based cause list, but this system does not provide checks against recusal on technical grounds. Currently, many cases are listed to judges who have to recuse themselves because they have passed orders in those cases in the past. The CJ can do a great service if he overcomes political pressure and selects judges on the basis of merit, Adhikari added.
Six vacancies for the post of judge remains at the SC, 47 in high courts, and 37 in district courts, according to Spokesperson of the Judicial Council Man Bahadur Karki.
Senior Advocate Prof Gandhi Pandit said that CJ Karki should try to implement the report he had submitted to the SC and try his best to introduce automation-based lottery system which was one of the major recommendations of the report. He said that the Karki-led panel had stated that middlemen were active in the judiciary and to end anomalies and irregularities, automation-based cause list should be introduced without any delay.
Many lawyers complain that judges are not punctual. "If judges decide to start their bench at 11:00am, they should be present at the bench on the dot, but judges hardly maintain punctuality, a senior advocate, who did not want to be quoted, said.
Senior Advocate Meera Dhungana said that CJ Karki could serve the judiciary better if he ensured speedy delivery.
"We filed a petition at the constitution bench of the SC on behalf of women development officers who were denied promotion above the under-secretary level, but the case continues to be sub judice for the last four years. Some of the intended beneficiaries have retired from service," she said and added that the SC had not delivered justice in some of the citizenship cases filed 11 years ago.
"Eligible citizens knock the door of the SC and yet they do not get justice in time," Dhunagana added.
