Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Three international human rights organizations have claimed that attempts were made to pressure three Supreme Court justices to resign by threatening them with impeachment.
Issuing a joint statement on Friday, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) claimed that there had been efforts from within the government to coerce Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla, Kumar Regmi and Hari Phuyal into stepping down, with threats of impeachment if they refused.
The organizations expressed concern over recent actions by the Government of Nepal that they say undermine judicial independence. “In particular, we have received reports of political pressure being used to alter the composition of the Supreme Court, including through forcing sitting judges to resign or by threatening them with impeachment,” the statement said.
Interestingly, the statement has come a day after Chief Justice Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma embarked on an official visit to India at the invitation of the Chief Justice of India.
The three organizations also raised questions over the government’s move to amend the Constitutional Council Act through an ordinance to facilitate the appointment of the Chief Justice. They expressed concern over changes to quorum and voting provisions within the Constitutional Council—the body responsible for recommending appointments to key constitutional positions, including the Chief Justice.
According to the statement, as the Constitutional Council already has a majority of political office-bearers, the amendment could further increase the risk of undue political influence over judicial appointments and weaken international standards on judicial independence and the rule of law.
Ian Seiderman, senior legal and policy director at the ICJ, said in the statement that the independence of the judiciary is a cornerstone of the rule of law and an essential safeguard for the protection of human rights. “Any reform of Nepal’s justice system should strengthen, not weaken, the independence, impartiality and integrity of the courts,” he added.
The organizations said that the recent appointment of Dr. Manoj Kumar Sharma as Chief Justice has raised these concerns.
“Sharma’s appointment, made while three senior justices were still in office, represents a departure from Nepal’s long-standing practice of appointing the senior-most Supreme Court justice as Chief Justice,” they added in the statement.
The statement further said the three organizations have received credible information that the three justices—Sapana Pradhan Malla, Kumar Regmi, and Hari Phuyal—were subjected to political pressure to resign, with threats of impeachment if they refused.
They warned that the use or threat of impeachment against judges without clear constitutional grounds risks misusing constitutional mechanisms to influence the composition of the court and could also affect the outcomes of cases currently under consideration.
