From the discussion on the same topic at Nepal Democracy Google Group. **** **** **** **** **** **** **** From: ...... Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 03:41:45 -0000 Subject: Incredible Betrayal In Courts To: "nepal democracy" Call me a radical. But I think as long as we have the current judges in our judiciary system, our democracy can't be strong. These are the most corrupt, the most spineless, and the most shameless people in decades. The parliament should start impeaching all these chief justices, start a comprehensive review and public hearing of district court judges (the conventional wisdom has always been that district court judges are pretty corupt, but supreme court is a lot better.), and pack the supreme court with the new breed of professors and professionals. This includes even Anup Raj Sharma who goes out of his way to defend the current establishment. I don't even want to talk about the current chief justice. -- If I had any respect for our judiciary so far, it is gone. I hailed Anup and others when they looked strong against the mandale government. But , at the end of the day, mandale govt was not saved by judicial manouvring, and so what they did means nothing to us. If anything, we owe it all to our martyrs who died during jana-andolan 2. They decided all the cases against autocracy, and it is always going to be the people who decide the politics. I don't owe anything to any judge or his occasional ruling in favor of some radio station or some newspaper. We want these judge to provide a semblance of civilized nation, to make sure that people have a place to go when they are wronged, and to make sure that people have faith on government. It is no more. -- Apart from these famous cases, I have heard numerous personal anecdotes where a supreme court judge has been doubtlessly wrong and venal. The popularity of maoist kangaroo court (at least in terms of plaintiffs who went there to register their grievances) was a voice for change. It is loud, and clear. By acquitting people like , well, no need to name those jerks, and by acting the way they did in relation to some corrupt banks, our judges have slapped our people in their face. Let's restructure this system. This system will never provide justice to the victims of ,say, maoist atrocities or the military excess if we ever want to take these cases in the court in the future. Our democracy's future shouldn't be held hostage by a few of these hoary jerks. **** **** **** **** **** **** **** From: Deepak Khadka Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 15:38:26 -0500 Subject: Re: [ND] Re: Incredible Betrayal In Courts To: nepaldemocracy@googlegroups.com Biswo, I share the same frustration. It is not only that the outcomes of those two decisions are devastating to the cause against corruption, but the judiciary explanation given themselves sound so hollow, particularly in case of Joshi. The fact about the functioning of the constitutional bodies of Nepal in recent time, specifically since the King took over the state power in 2003, is that they are essentially FROZEN and not functioning normally (that is, following the normal schedule, procedure and even objectives). How can Joshi get a benefit of ABNORMAL functioning of constitutional bodies happening purely due to non-constitutional factors and historical circumstances ? Joshi's case not accepted due to "time frame" of the case at this time of our history ? How blind and stupid can a judge get than this ? The acquittal of Khadka sounds equally absurd. The burden of proof for proving that Khadka's property came from legal source is on Khadka himself. And that was the whole case. Now, what does "lack of proof" has to do here ? I don't understand how can Khadka be acquitted based on "lack of proof" if CIAA has shown that Khadka owns property more than what he earned from legal sources. The "burden of proof" can not be on CIAA to prove that the "extra" property owned by Khadka is illegal; it is on Khadka to prove that they are legal. Or am I missing something ? Any legal experts ? I certainly smell something very wrong here. Deepak **** **** **** **** **** **** **** From: ... Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:28:42 -0000 Subject: Re: Incredible Betrayal In Courts To: "nepal democracy" ....ji I also think that it is high time we ask for the resignation of all SC judges, and if they refuse, we must impeach all of them. Honesty, I feel so betrayed by their histrionics. Aba pani dhilo garnu hudaina.No chief justice ever seems to be bothered that it takes years to clear a case. Kantipur alone has highlighted several egregious cases, for example, there was this woman who was fighting a case since thirty or something year. Then, there was a family of four in Birgunj who committed mass suicide (may their soul be in peace) after costly judicial process. I myself have heard a lot of stories of corruption in court. Such is the credibility of our courts that no poor man in our village has ever gone to the court. Where is urgency? Where is outrage? Judges have all the allowances, they are given more respect than to any minister, chief justice's salary is higher than that of prime minister, and even after the retirement, they are given a lot of opportunities. It is pretty good to be a judge in our country already reputation and even finance-wise. We can't satisfy greed of any individual, their need is pretty well satisfied by the financial package offered to them. I have no sympathy to these corrupt judges anymore. Because of them the Maoists kangaroo court is gaining more popularity, and we should act now. Even if Maoists in deed leave the jungle (far from certainty at this early stage), there will always be possibility of another rebellion. Hope our parliamentarians/govt listens to this. At least. They need to give people some feeling that there is government, and that our country is not some banana republic, but a civilized country with thousands of years of history. **** **** **** **** **** **** **** From: ... To: nepaldemocracy@googlegroups.com Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 11:07 AM Subject: [ND] Incredible Betrayal In Courts Dear ND members, Last week, the Supreme Court judges delivered verdicts on two most closely watched corruption cases against ex-ministers one after another. Here is my take on this mess. - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0611/S00338.htm I strongly agree with views expressed by Biswo, Deepak, and Subas Jee in ND forum. Best, ... **** **** **** **** **** **** ****