Jammu, July 26 -- State of Judicial independence in South Asia needs special scrutiny
By Sushovan Patnaik
On May 20, 2026, in the Singha Durbar complex in Kathmandu, Dr. Manoj Sharma, Nepal's current Chief Justice, currently on a visit to India through an invitation from Chief Justice of India ('CJI') Surya Kant, was seated before a fifteen member Parliamentary Hearing Committee. The Committee, which is constitutionally required to cross question new recommendees to constitutional posts and is now dominated by prime minister Balendra Shah's Rastriya Swatantra Party ('RSP').
Earlier that month, Nepal's Constitutional Council, the constitutional body established under Article 284 of the Constitution of Nepal that appoints all the key const...