Supreme Court Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla Takes 20 Day Leave Following Appointment of Junior Chief Justice
Supreme Court Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla has gone on a 20 day leave following the appointment of Dr. Manoj Kumar Sharma as the new Chief Justice. The Supreme Court confirmed her absence, which comes at a time of apparent disagreement over the top judicial leadership selection and also Pradhan was not there in the court when newly appointed Dr. Manoj Kumar Sharma takes the office yesterday.
Before this transition, Malla had been serving as the Acting Chief Justice. She took over the temporary responsibility after the previous Chief Justice, Prakash Man Singh Raut, stepped down due to reaching the mandatory retirement age limit of 65.
Sources indicate that Malla was dissatisfied with the Constitutional Council's decision to recommend Dr. Sharma for the Chief Justice position, as he is junior to her in terms of ranking. Highlighting this tension, Malla did not attend the official swearing in ceremony on Tuesday, where Dr. Sharma took his oath of office and formally assumed his new role after clearing the parliamentary hearing process. Dr. Sharma was in the 4th priority list for the chief Justice however Constitutional Council’s decision to recommend him have been successful and he officially began the office by today.
