Kathmandu: The Parliamentary Hearing Committee of Nepal's Federal Parliament on Saturday, November 7, endorsed the recommendation of four judges for appointment as Supreme Court judges, Radio Nepal reported, citing the national news agency RSS.

Source: Radio Nepal (RSS)

A meeting of the committee endorsed the four nominees: Dr Ratna Bahadur Bagchand, Chief Judge of the High Court in Pokhara; Chandra Bahadur Saru, a judge of the High Court in Patan; Janak Pandey, a judge of the Patan High Court's Hetauda Bench; and Gokarna Dangi, a judge of the Janakpur High Court's Birgunj Bench.

The Judicial Council had proposed the four as Supreme Court judges on October 6, and the parliamentary hearings on the nominees began on November 5. According to committee president Bodh Narayan Shrestha, a total of 13 complaints were received against the proposed judges. People's Review reported on November 6 that the committee had opened and reviewed the complaint files, distributed them among its members, and scheduled a sitting to hear the complainants before deciding on endorsement.

Source: People's Review

Under Nepal's constitution, Supreme Court judges are appointed by the President after the Parliamentary Hearing Committee endorses the Judicial Council's recommendations. President Ramchandra Paudel will therefore now appoint the four judges to the apex court.

The October recommendations had drawn criticism within the legal fraternity. Farsight Nepal reported at the time that two Judicial Council members — senior Supreme Court Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla and council member Mahesh Kumar Nepal — registered dissenting opinions, with Nepal objecting specifically to the nominations of Pandey and Dangi while supporting Bagchand and Saru, and that Nepal Bar Association president Bijay Prasad Mishra questioned the council for bypassing several senior High Court judges. Five positions were vacant at the Supreme Court, but the council recommended only four candidates, Farsight reported. Those criticisms were reported as views of the individuals concerned; Saturday's endorsement completes the parliamentary hearing stage required before appointment.

Source: Farsight Nepal