The Judicial Council has dismissed justice of the Biratnagar High Court Umesh Kumar Singh.
Spokesperson at the council Man Bahadur Karki said Singh has been dismissed for not acting in accordance to the law and decorum while hearing the application of those accused of smuggling 33 kilograms of gold and murder of Sanam Shakya.
Promotion of justices Sadhu Ram Sapkotaand Thir Bahadur Sapkota of the same court has also been stopped for two years in connection to the same case. The council has also decided to warn the two seriously.
The council meeting on Monday has taken the decisions after investigation for six months.
The council had initiated investigation after the accused who were sent to judicial custody by the Morang District Court were released on bail and date by the High Court. The justices were accused of hearing applications by those accused in the same case separately instead of hearing all those applications together.
A surveillance committee formed immediately after Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana assumed office had inspected Biratnagar High Court. The committee had submitted its report to the council stating that irregularities were found in handling the cases of those accused in smuggling of 33 kilograms of gold and murder of Shakya.
The council then summoned all the justices who saw the applications of the accused and chief justice Bhurtel who set up the benches.
The issue of 33 kilograms of gold smuggled through the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on January 23, 2018 came to the fore after the body of Shakya of Urlabari, who died while being tortured on charge of stealing that gold, was recovered in Biratnagar on March 2 last year.
