A meeting of the Constitutional Council will be convened later Tuesday to fill the position of chief justice (CJ) that has remained vacant for three months.
Deepak Raj Joshi has been serving as acting chief justice after Secretary of the Judicial Council Nripa Dhwaj Niraula sacked the then CJ Gopal Parajuli on March 14 stating he crossed the age limit of 65 years on August 5, 2017.
The CJ must be appointed a month before the term of incumbent expires or within a month if the position becomes vacant due to unexpected reasons.
The meeting of Constitutional Council has been convened even as the government has been criticized for leaving the judiciary without its head for such a long time.
The Constitutional Council chaired by the prime minister includes law minister, speaker, deputy speaker, chairman of the National Assembly and the main opposition leader at the time of appointing the CJ.
The Judicial Council has sent the records of Acting CJ Joshi, Justice Om Prakash Mishra and Cholendra Shumsher Rana, all of whom are eligible for the position, to the Constitutional Council almost three months back.
The Constitutional Council meeting today will pick one of the three for the position. The president will appoint the CJ once the one picked today completes parliamentary hearing.
The parliamentary committee for hearing is also yet to be formed in lack of regulations for operation of the parliament.
