Legal eagles slam ex CJs’ advice to resurrect parliament

A group of lawyers has objected to the suggestion of former chief justices to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai that the legislature parliament be revived for a brief period in order to make constitutional amendments necessary for conducting new election.

In a joint statement on Thursday, advocates Shambhu Thapa, Tika Ram Bhattarai, Bhimarjun Acharya, Chandra Kant Gyawali, Ravi Narayan Khanal and Kumar Regmi said that the former chief justices' advice has only added to the prevailing political uncertainty and that it has further confused the political parties and ordinary citizens alike.

Saying that the Interim Constitution has not envisaged a separate entity that functions as legislature parliament only, the lawyers said reinstating the parliament will not only be unconstitutional but against the Supreme Court’s November 2011 verdict against further extension of the Constituent Assembly’s term.

“At a time when a writ petition demanding revival of the CA is pending at the Supreme Court, the views of the former chief justices breaches minimum judicial ethics and we are saddened by their views,” the statement said.

Seven former Supreme Court justices had recently presented a written paper to the PM during an interaction, suggesting revival of the parliament, not the CA, for a maximum period of three months to amend the constitution to conduct the fresh CA polls. They, however, said the dissolved constitution-making body cannot be revived for the purpose of drafting or promulgating the new constitution. nepalnews.com