Kathmandu- The Human Rights Commission, expressing its serious attention, has urged the government to fill the vacancies of judges immediately and move the judiciary forward competently.

Even though there is a provision that the Chief Justice can be recommended for appointment one month prior the vacancy, the government and the Constitutional Council have not done any homework regarding the recommendation of the Chief Justice and due to the failure on appointing judges in the courts for a long time, the commission is concerned about the impact on the constitutional right of the citizens on getting speedy justice.

In a statement issued by the National Human Rights Commission, the spokesperson of the commission, Dr. Tikaram Pokharel has drawn the attention of the government saying that due to the failure to appoint judges on time , it has created an obstacle in the judicial rights of all the citizens.

Currently, 53 judges in the High Court and 38 in the District Court are vacant, according to the Judicial Council. The number of pending cases in the Supreme Court, High Court and District Court is increasing when the post is vacant. Due to the lack of judges, the hearing of the case could not be done on time. There are currently 30,104 pending cases in the Supreme Court. More than 26,000 cases are yet to be heard in the High Court. Similarly 102,542 cases are pending in the district court.

According to the constitution , there is a provision to recommend the Chief Justice one month before the post of Chief Justice becomes vacant, but until now, even the meeting of the Constitutional Council has not been held regarding the matter of the recommendation of the Chief Justice. Chief Justice Karki, Speaker of the House of Representatives Devraj Ghimire, Speaker of the National Assembly Ganesh Timalsena, Leader of the Opposition KP Sharma Oli, Deputy Speaker Indira Rana are members of the Constitutional Council chaired by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.

Chief Justice Harikrishna Karki is compulsorily retiring on 20th of Shrawan, 2080 BS. According to Article 284 (3) of the Constitution, there is a provision that the Constitutional Council can make a recommendation for the appointment of the Chief Justice one month before the post becomes vacant.