KATHMANDU: Supreme Court justices have raised serious concerns over Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma’s leadership and the functioning of the judiciary during a full-court meeting held on Monday.
The meeting took place a day after former Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana was taken from his residence in Maharajgunj shortly after midnight and kept in police custody for around 12 hours before being released.
The justices expressed concern that the Supreme Court had become surrounded by controversy only a few months after Sharma assumed office. They pointed to the reported return of court middlemen and growing questions over the administration of justice.
The detention of the former chief justice also raised concerns about the security of serving Supreme Court justices.
According to details discussed during the meeting, police did not present an arrest warrant to Rana’s family when they took him from his residence. Police later said he had been taken to a safe location because of a security threat. He was released at around 2pm on Sunday.
When the Supreme Court resumed work on Monday, several justices questioned whether serving judges could also be taken from their residences in the future under the pretext of security concerns.
The concern was particularly linked to the court’s ongoing handling of cases challenging government decisions. The justices noted that the court regularly issues interim orders and other decisions in politically and administratively sensitive cases.
After the issue was raised among the justices, they asked the chief justice to convene a full-court meeting to discuss the incident and its implications for judicial independence and security.
Before the meeting, a team from the Supreme Court, including the chief registrar, met Rana and gathered information about the circumstances surrounding his detention. The team later briefed the full court about the discussion.
According to the information presented at the meeting, Rana had asked the police officers who arrived at his residence to show an arrest warrant. He was reportedly told that he was being taken into custody because of a security threat.
He was subsequently taken to a police office, where his mobile phone was reportedly seized. A document concerning the alleged security threat was also prepared and presented to him for signature. After he declined to sign it, the document was reportedly signed by his son.
The full-court meeting began at around 2pm and continued for approximately five hours.
Most of the justices present raised concerns about developments within the judiciary. The main issue was the reported re-emergence of middlemen operating around the Supreme Court.
The justices also questioned the chief justice about several other matters, including concerns surrounding the Constitutional Bench and complaints regarding the functioning of the Special Court.
They questioned why so many issues had emerged within only four months of Sharma taking charge as chief justice.
The meeting also recalled criticism surrounding Sharma’s appointment. He was recommended for the position by the Constitutional Council led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah despite being fourth in the seniority order.
The justices also discussed complaints concerning the conduct of some judges at the Special Court.
Concerns had reportedly been raised with the Supreme Court about the functioning of the Special Court, including issues related to its recently appointed leadership.
The justices stressed the importance of ensuring that the Special Court maintains public confidence and that its decisions are not influenced by external interests.
They also urged the chief justice to investigate the reasons behind the recent controversies rather than limiting the response to assurances that the problems would be addressed.
Another major issue discussed during the meeting was the allocation of cases before the Constitutional Bench.
Several justices called for cases to be assigned through a random lottery system similar to the method used for other benches.
They argued that the existing process of listing Constitutional Bench cases had raised questions about how hearings were scheduled and called for a more transparent and random system of case allocation.
The justices also emphasized that they needed assurance that they could perform their judicial responsibilities independently and without fear or intimidation.
Chief Justice Sharma said he was committed to protecting the independence and effectiveness of the Supreme Court.
He acknowledged that there may have been shortcomings and said the concerns raised during the meeting would be examined and necessary improvements made.
However, some participants felt that the chief justice appeared defensive while responding to the concerns raised by the justices.
The full court agreed to issue a statement addressing the issues discussed during the meeting and to take steps to address the concerns raised by the justices.
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