Supreme Court (SC) Justice Kumar Chudal has conducted hearing on Monday against the collective stand of justices that they will hear habeas corpus petitions only if Chief Justice (CJ) Cholendra Shumsher Rana does not assign any case to himself.
The single bench of Chudal has heard a habeas corpus petition and issued an order on that, according to the SC website. Chudal had earlier expressed solidarity with the other justices demanding CJ Rana's resignation over him seeking a share in the federal Cabinet and other controversies.
The justices had demanded CJ Rana should not conduct any hearing until the graceful exit proposed by Rana, and halted hearing on other cases apart from habeas corpus petitions. CJ Rana accordingly had not assigned any case to himself before the Tihar festival while the justices heard the habeas corpus petitions.
But CJ Rana assigned cases to himself on Monday. He constituted two single benches of Justice Chudal and Justice Bam Kumar Shrestha and included himself in a joint bench with Justice Chudal among the four joint benches constituted for the day.
The SC website does not reveal whether other benches heard any case on Monday but the single bench of Chudal has heard the habeas corpus petition and issued an order.
All the SC justices have demanded CJ Rana's resignation following controversies including picking bench in different cases including those about HoR dissolution, accusations about CJ Rana getting a share of spoils in appointments at constitutional bodies, involvement of CJ Rana in the case about the Constitutional Council, delay in the hearing of case filed making CJ Rana a defendant, and allegations about him seeking share in the Cabinet and been boycotting hearing demanding CJ Rana's resignation.
