The parliamentary hearing committee has received a complaint stating that the person who registered a pond at Chhapkaiya of Birgunj in the name of his relative should not be made chief justice (CJ).
Supreme Court (SC) justices Deepak Raj Joshi and Cholendra Shumsher Rana, who has been recommended for CJ, on August 24, 2014 had registered the land, that was ruled public by Parsa District Court and the then Hetauda Appellate Court, in the name of Pramod Shah, a cousin of Rana's wife.
The complainant has accused Rana of nepotism in registering the land in the name of Shah. "I have lodged this complaint with hope that considering the prestige of the post of chief justice constitutional action will be initiated against the person who has muddied the judiciary and justice," the complainant mentions in the complaint.
Chhapkaiya pond is one of the important water bodies to celebrate Chhath festival in Birgunj and there is a temple of Chhath goddess to the west of the pond. Shah had registered the public land in his name in 1964.
The then executive officer at Birgunj municipality Ram Krishna Bhurtel in 1992 had moved the Parsa District Court demanding that the land be ruled public land. The court three years later, the Hetauda Appellate Court another two years later and the Supreme Court (SC) another two years later had revoked Shah's appeal on technical grounds stating that the deadline had expired and there was no sufficient claims for ownership.
But the Parsa District Court on July 10, 2008, and the Hetauda Appellate Court, on Shah's appeal, two years later ruled it to be public land.
The joint bench of Joshi and Rana hearing the appeal of Shah then got the land registered in the name of Shah in 2014.
The parliamentary hearing committee has received other eight complaints against Rana. The committee on December 13 had invited complaints against Rana after the Constitutional Council recommended him for the post of CJ. He will be appointed the next CJ if the committee approves him after conducting hearing.
The then CPN-UML and the Maoists, who have now unified to form CPN, had voted against Rana during the hearing to appoint him as SC justice. It will be interesting to see if the CPN, which has almost two-third majority in the committee, will endorse Rana for CJ after voting against him for SC justice.
The then UML lawmaker Ashta Laxmi Shakya during the hearing of Rana for SC justice on May 25, 2014 had asked him how many millions he spent to get recommended for the post. Rana in response had called the allegations baseless citing that one must carry the bribe of Rs 20 million in a tractor.
Rana has given controversial verdicts including ruling the game of marriage (cards) to be a mental game and not gambling while he was at the Biratnagar Appellate Court.
