Nepal passes impeachment motion against 1st woman CJ, Deputy PM resigns

Kathmandu: Nepal's first woman Chief Justice Sushila Karki was suspended on Sunday after an impeachment motion against her was registered in Parliament by two major ruling parties that accused her of "interfering" with the executive and issuing "prejudiced" verdicts.

As a fallout of the impeachment motion registered by the lawmakers of the ruling Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Centre), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bimalendra Nidhi resigned over his dissatisfaction with the move.

A close associate of Nidhi told reporters that he has serious reservations over the move. Nidhi leads the Nepali Congress, the largest constituent of the current ruling coalition, in the Cabinet.

Karki, 64, who has done her Masters in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University, was automatically suspended from the post after the registration of the motion.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Min Bishwokarma and CPN (Maoist Centre) chief whip Tek Bahadur Basnet, among other lawmakers, registered the motion in the Parliament secretariat this afternoon.

A total of 249 lawmakers from the ruling Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Centre) have signed the motion which has accused Karki of "interfering in the jurisdiction of the executive and failing to issue verdicts without being prejudiced".

According to the constitutional provision, an amendment motion can be filed in the parliament secretariat by securing the support of at least one-fourth of the total number of lawmakers.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Development Kamal Thapa also expressed his displeasure over the impeachment motion.

In a tweet, chairman of Rastriya Prajatantra Party Thapa said the impeachment motion registered by the Nepali Congress and Maoist lawmakers was objectionable and unfortunate.

Attorney General Raman Shrestha said it was necessary to impeach the Chief Justice for her tampering with the work performance evaluation of the Inspector General of Police candidates during a recent controversy over the promotion of Nepal Police Chief.

Karki had assumed office as Nepal's first woman Chief Justice on August 1 last year. Meanwhile, Gopal Parajuli was appointed as the acting Chief Justice.