KATHMANDU: Chief Justice (CJ) Manoj Kumar Sharma has sent the Property Investigation Commission case to the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court, using his constitutional power to do so.
The decision was made a few days ago under Article 137(3) of the Constitution, which allows cases involving important constitutional interpretation to be heard by the Constitutional Bench, according to Supreme Court spokesperson and Joint Registrar Arjun Prasad Koirala.
The case had previously been referred to a full bench after a division bench of Justices Tek Prasad Dhungana and Shreekanta Paudel issued an order on July 10 preventing authorities from forcing individuals to disclose their property details.
The two judges concluded that the dispute raised significant questions of legal interpretation and directed that it be examined by a full bench. The matter was later transferred to the Constitutional Bench through a note order prepared by the Supreme Court administration.
The Nepal Bar Association has objected to the referral, calling the process unusual. In a statement, the association questioned why a pending case of national importance was moved to a particular bench through a note order rather than through judicial arguments and deliberation during a hearing.
The association also warned that selective bench formation and case allocation could affect judicial independence and called on the chief justice to address the concern.
