Appointments of constitutional bodies are unconstitutional

The process of swearing in and appointing the five chief commissioners and chairpersons and 27 commissioners of the constitutional commissions and bodies, including the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, is unconstitutional. It is unconstitutional for the government to amend the law of the Constitutional Council, which recommends appointments to constitutional bodies and commissions, to recommend appointments by a majority. The provisions in the constitution cannot be amended through ordinances. A case is pending in the Supreme Court in this regard. It is totally unconstitutional and illegal to convene a meeting of the Constitutional Council chaired by Prime Minister KP Oli, including National Assembly Speaker Ganesh Prasad Timilsina and Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Jabra, before the final hearing of the issue.

The government hastily changed the quorum rules of the Constitutional Council by issuing an ordinance saying that it was an obstacle to appointments to the constitutional body. The appointments were recommended from the meeting in the absence of Agni Prasad Sapkota.

Article 292 of the constitution states that a parliamentary hearing will be held on the appointment recommendations made by the Constitutional Council. However, after the dissolution of the House of Representatives on December 20, a joint hearing committee of both the houses does not exist. The appointment recommendation, which was made public on the same day, could not be heard even after that. It is a gross violation of the Constitution of Nepal to take and recommend and not only that, but also to administer the oath of office in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice.

Rules 26 and 20 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament state that the hearing cannot be held within 45 days of receipt of the letter of recommendation by the Hearing Committee. The hearing committee has never received the letter. Earlier, the hearing of 11 judges was stalled for six months due to lack of working committee.

This constitution does not provide the facility to evade hearing. The constitution and the law do not allow the government to take the oath and make the appointment on the same  sub judice case  in the supreme  court. There are also instances where the Supreme Court has rejected the legitimacy of such meetings which have not been held in the past. Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun and Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota were not present at the swearing-in ceremony. Therefore, the process of swearing in and appointing the commissioners of the constitutional bodies is unconstitutional and not in accordance with the rules and regulations of the constitution.