Shrestha appointed new chief justice

Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee (PHSC) on Thursday approved the nomination of Ram Prasad Shrestha as new chief justice in the country. He is replacing incumbent chief justice Anup Raj Sharma, who is retiring on Friday.

Shrestha appeared in a PHSC meeting held at Singha Durbar to answer queries of the committee members on various issues related to judiciary.

Constitution Council on March 15 had named Shrestha, the senior most justice in the Supreme Court, as new chief justice.

Shrestha joined the Supreme Court in January 2003 as a temporary judge. Born in 1947, he has an MA in political science and a bachelor´s degree in law.

Shrestha is known for his bold verdicts, especially during former king Gyenendra’s autocratic rule.

He was in the limelight when a bench comprising him released political detainees during the king´s direct rule in 2005. The precedent had led to the release of hundreds of political leaders and cadres arrested by the king-led government in 2005 and 2006.

Another landmark verdict in which Shrestha was involved was the dissolution of the all-powerful Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) set up by the then king Gyanendra. The commission served as a tool to silence politicians who opposed the king´s direct rule.

Chief Justice designate Shrestha said his priority would be to provide speedy justice in hassle-free manner and implement a recently submitted report on ´how to clean the judiciary´ prepared by a panel headed by Shrestha himself.

- Asian Tribune -