Three international human rights organizations have said they have received reports that three senior Supreme Court justices have been pressured to resign and threatened with impeachment.
In a joint statement issued on Friday, Amnesty International Nepal, Human Rights Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said that political pressure has reportedly been applied to alter the composition of the Supreme Court through the forced resignation or impeachment of sitting justices.
“The organizations have received credible reports that the three more senior Supreme Court justices, Sapana Pradhan Malla, Kumar Regmi, and Hari Phuyal have been subjected to political pressure to resign and threatened with impeachment if they refuse,” the statement said, adding that organizations are unaware of any publicly stated allegations that would satisfy the constitutional grounds for impeachment under Nepal’s Constitution.
The rights groups warned that the suspension of three senior Supreme Court justices would significantly affect the composition and functioning of the court at a time when it is considering a number of highly consequential constitutional cases involving challenges to government decisions and executive action.
The Constitutional Council led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah had recommended fourth-ranked Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma for the post of chief justice, bypassing the three senior justices ranked above him.
