KHATMANDU – Nepal’s divisive Chief Justice Gopal Parajuli was sacked onWednesday (March 14) for faking his date of birth in order to remain inoffice longer.
The controversy over Parajuli’s date of birth has been brewing for monthsafter he charged a prominent activist and Nepal’s largest newspaper withcontempt of court for raising concerns about his multiple birthdays.
A judicial council concluded that Parajuli should have retired seven monthsago when he turned 65, the age of retirement for official positions inNepal.
“He has been removed from the post after the age of retirement was found tohave been crossed last August in our investigation,” the council’ssecretary Nripdhoj Niraula told AFP.
The decision came just moments before Parajuli administered the oath ofoffice to Nepal’s President Bidya Bhandari, who was re-elected for a secondterm on Tuesday.
He administered the oath nonetheless. It is not clear if Bhandari will haveto be sworn in again.
In late February Parajuli subpoenaed the Kantipur Daily – Nepal’s largestnewspaper by circulation – on contempt of court charges for a series ofarticles that said he had given up to five different dates of birth onvarious official documents.
The charges were widely condemned as an attack on press freedom, andParajuli attracted further outrage when he said he would preside over thecase himself.
In January, Parajuli also ordered the arrest of anti-corruption activist DrGovinda KC, an orthopedic surgeon well-loved in Nepal for his philanthropicwork, for raising questions about his date of birth.
Parajuli became chief justice last June after his predecessor Sushila Karki- the first woman to hold the position – turned 65. – APP /AFP