Nepal’s chief justice, suspended for months, prepares to return to Supreme Court

Kathmandu: Suspended Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana is preparing to return to the Supreme Court after receiving the letter from the parliament secretariat that the impeachment motion filed against him is no longer effective.

On February 13, as many as 98 lawmakers filed a motion of impeachment against Rana accusing him of seeking ministerial berth in the cabinet. Rana was accused of forcing the ruling alliance to appoint his man as a cabinet minister back in October, 2021.

[Related: Nepal’s judiciary debacle: Serious allegations are directed toward the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Nothing has happened since.]

A few days ago, Chief Justice Rana wrote to the parliament seeking notice about the impeachment motion filed against him. In response, Bharat Gautam, general secretary of Parliament secretariat, sent a letter saying the motion against him has become invalid.

“The motion filed against me is no longer effective. Therefore, I am returning to the Supreme Court,” Rana told Nepal Live Today.

[Related: We can’t afford to lose judiciary’s independence at a time when all other institutions have been compromised]

Nepal’s Supreme Court had become a battleground of a sort in November, 2021 after the Supreme Court sitting judges, some former Chief Justices, justices and advocates stood in protest demanding resignation of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana, accusing him of being involved in collusion with political parties to secure ministerial berths for his relatives.

Rana is retiring on December 13.