Two Nepal parties to withdraw impeachment motion against CJ

Two Nepal parties which moved an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Sushila Karki in April, on Saturday decided to withdraw it, a move expected to end an unsavoury row between the executive and judiciary in the Himalayan country.

On Saturday, leaders of both the parties held parleys with the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist and decided to withdraw the motion by Saturday evening or Sunday.

"The impeachment motion registered against the Chief Justice will be withdrawn by this (Saturday) evening or by Sunday morning," CPN-UML's Parliamentary Party leader Subash Nembang quoted Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as saying.

Dahal, who had announced his resignation as the Prime Minister on Wednesday to honour an agreement with the Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, said the process to withdraw the motion has already been initiated.

Lawmakers of the ruling Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) had registered the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice at the Parliament Secretariat on April 30 after the apex court annulled the government's decision to appoint the police chief.

On March 21, a Supreme Court bench led by the Chief Justice had revoked the Cabinet's February 12 decision to appoint Jaya Bahadur Chand as the Nepal Police chief, thereby paving the way for Deputy Inspector General of Police Nawaraj Silwal's appointment to the post.

Immediately after the impeachment motion was registered, Sushila Karki -- the first woman Chief Justice of Nepal -- was suspended, but later reinstated on the post by another court verdict.

There was huge national and international interest, including from the United Nations Human Rights Commission, in the impeachment motion.

With the three parties reaching an agreement on the impeachment motion, the main opposition CPN-UML decided to let Parliament proceed with its normal business from Saturday in the wake of assurances that the Budget will be announced on May 29 as per the constitutional provisions.

--IANS

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