Nepal politicians to allow chief justice to superannuate with grace

Sushila Karki, the Chief Justice of Nepal's Supreme Court, will be allowed to superannuate from office without being impeached, said the country's politicians and lawmakers, cutting across party lines.

According to the Kathmandu Post, as Chief Justice Karki is due to superannuate on June 7, it was felt that she should be allowed to retire with grace and without the pressure of being impeached being put on her.

Politicians, cutting across party lines, said they would be writing to the Speaker of the Nepal Parliament to initiate the process of rolling back the impeachment motion filed against Chief Justice Karki.

The coalition Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Centre) agreed with the opposition CPN-UML to withdraw the motion after the second largest party obstructed House meetings demanding rollback of the process to impeach the chief justice.

Lawmakers had earlier registered an impeachment motion at the Parliament Secretariat against Karki, citing various reasons. including her interference in matters executive.

Karki is considered to be one of the most powerful and influential figures in Nepal's state mechanism, and was being accused by lawmakers of running a "parallel government" and abusing her powers.

Since her appointment in 2013, she had emerged as a political figure more powerful than the Prime Minister by targeting businessmen, politicians, lawyers, and silencing critics, editors and publishers.

The move to impeach her prompted Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bimalendra Nidhi to resign.

Nidhi was reportedly disappointed over the move as it was carried out without his knowledge.