Kathmandu: Suspended Chairman of the Nepal Insurance Authority, Sharad Ojha, has filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court, demanding the annulment of the investigation committee formed against him and the revocation of his suspension.
The writ was filed jointly against the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance, and the investigation committee.
Ojha has also named the chair of the committee, Krishna Giri, and members Jivan Prakash Sitoula and Kapil Dev Oli as defendants in the petition.
Responding to the preliminary hearing on the case, Supreme Court Justice Abdul Aziz Musalman issued a show cause order to the government and other respondents. The next hearing has been scheduled for Monday. Today’s hearing was listed before a joint bench of Justices Musalman and Manoj Kumar Sharma.
The government had formed the investigation committee on 14 July to probe Ojha’s conduct, official integrity, and performance. Following the formation of the committee, Ojha was automatically suspended as per Section 12, Subsection 3 of the Insurance Act, 2022, which mandates suspension of any chairperson or member under investigation.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered a full hearing in a separate writ filed earlier against Ojha. On 2 June, a joint bench of Justices Musalman and Balkrishna Dhakal had refused to issue an interim order and instead directed the case be presented for a full hearing before a three-judge panel.
In another related writ filed by advocate Indira Dhamala on 30 March, Justice Dr. Nahkul Subedi issued a show cause order and summoned both sides for discussions regarding an interim order. Although the case appeared on the docket six times, it was either postponed or not heard until 19 May, when it was finally taken up.
A bench of Justices Prakashman Singh Raut and Nityananda Pandey then ordered that the cabinet’s decision to appoint Ojha, as well as the recommendation from the selection committee, be submitted for review. The writ argued that Ojha did not meet the qualifications required to serve as the Authority’s chairperson and called for his appointment to be invalidated.
Advocate Dhamala had named the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance, the recommendation committee for the chairperson of the Insurance Authority, and Sharad Ojha himself as defendants in the case.
Ojha was appointed chairperson of the Insurance Authority by a Cabinet decision on 24 February, defeating 11 other candidates for the position.
Comment Here