Om Prakash Mishra set to become Nepal's new Chief Justice

Om Prakash Mishra, who studied law in India, is set to become Nepal's new Chief Justice after the Parliamentary Hearing Committee Monday unanimously endorsed his name for the top judicial post.

Mishra, the senior-most justice after Justice Deepak Raj Joshee, will assume charge as the Chief Justice after President Bidya Devi Bhandari officially appoints him.

The Parliamentary Hearing Committee (PHC) conducted hearings on complaints filed against Mishra before giving its approval to appoint him as the Chief Justice, said committee coordinator Laxman Lal Karna.

The Committee had received four complaints against Mishra, one of which was later withdrawn. The in-camera parliamentary hearings were conducted on the remaining three complaints, Karna said.

The Constitutional Council on August 23 had unanimously nominated Acting Chief Justice Mishra for the appointment of the top judicial post after the PHC rejected Chief Justice nominee Joshee, citing controversial issues related to the candidate's academic certificates and discrepancies in his date of birth.

He was later rejected by the PHC on August 3.

Mishra assumed the duty of the Acting Chief justice from August 5 when Joshee went on a 15-day leave.

Born on January 1, 1954, Mishra, a resident of Raipur of Rupandehi district, holds a master's degree in Comparative Law from Delhi University (1989) and another master's degree in Political Science from Tribhuvan University (1985).

He joined judicial service in 1981 as a section officer.