Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut has formed a Constitutional Bench without including four senior justices.
The Constitutional Bench, which had not been able to convene for a long time due to the controversy arising from a proposal to select justices through lottery, was formed by Chief Justice Raut on Wednesday.
Justices for the Constitutional Bench have mostly been appointed on the basis of seniority. However, on Wednesday, Chief Justice Raut constituted the bench without including the four senior justices following the most senior justice, Sapana Pradhan Malla.
The bench, led by Chief Justice Raut, includes the most senior justice Sapana Pradhan Malla, and Justices Nahakul Subedi, Til Prasad Shrestha, and Binod Sharma.
Justices Kumar Regmi, Hari Prasad Phuyal, Manoj Kumar Sharma, and Kumar Chudal, who rank immediately below Malla in seniority, were excluded from the bench.
According to Article 137 of the Constitution, the chief justice has the authority to appoint justices to the Constitutional Bench.
“There shall be a Constitutional Bench in the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Bench shall consist of the chief justice and four other justices designated by the chief justice on the recommendation of the Judicial Council,” Article 137 (1) of the Constitution states.
Recently, Chief Justice Raut had proposed using a lottery system to select justices for the Constitutional Bench. The proposal was not supported by the most senior justice, Sapana Pradhan Malla, and other justices.
Due to this controversy, the Constitutional Bench had not convened since July 9. It resumed after 48 days on Wednesday.
Speaking with a few journalists on Wednesday morning, Chief Justice Raut said that there was no controversy over the lottery system as had been reported.
"The bench could not convene due to various reasons, including the appointment, posting, and transfer of high court judges. Article 137 of the Constitution has granted the chief justice the authority to form a Constitutional Bench, and I formed the bench accordingly," Chief Justice Raut said. "There was no dispute. It was just exaggerated. There’s nothing like what was reported. It was only due to busy schedule."
He added that discussions among justices solely focused on how to better manage the Constitutional Bench.
The Judicial Council has prepared a roster of 10 senior justices. Chief Justice Raut formed the bench by selecting justices from this roster.
