Controversy over governor post

Controversy over governor post
With the Supreme Court clearing Nepal Rastra Bank's former governor Bijaya Nath Bhattarai of corruption charges, a controversy has arisen regarding his reinstatement as the government has already appointed a new governor in his place. Although Bhattarai claimed that he would resume office on Thursday, he has not been able to do so due to legal complications. The government has also sought advice from the Office of the Attorney General regarding the issue.

The then government had appointed Dipendra Bahadur Kshetry as governor for the period up to Jan. 31, 2010. The government has not mentioned in the appointment letter given to Kshetry that he would have to leave if Bhattarai was given a clean chit. "You have been appointed governor of Nepal Rastra Bank under provision 26 of the Nepal Rastra Bank Act 2002 by the decision of the cabinet on Jan. 15, 2009," reads the appointment letter.

"As the Supreme Court has not reinstated Bhattarai as governor, I should be allowed to continue until the end of my tenure," said Kshetry. Bhattarai claims said that he should be reinstated in his original post as per the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Act which provides that government employees will be automatically reinstated if they get a clean chit on corruption charges.

"As per the principle of natural law, I should be reinstated in the original place as the court has given me a clean chit," he added. However, Kshetry's argument is that he was appointed as per the Nepal Rastra Bank Act 2002 and there is no ground to remove him under it. As per provision 22 of the act, the governor, deputy governor and directors cannot be removed from their posts until they are disqualified due to inability to achieve the objectives of the bank as per the act or cause damage to the banking and financial system of the country.

Likewise, if they are found to have acted dishonestly with bad intention in any transaction, their professional license is revoked or they remain absent for three consecutive years without a valid reason, they can be removed from their posts. Bhattarai has questioned why another person was appointed governor when the case against him was pending in court and why he has not been given his old job back even after getting a clean chit.

Former judge Udaya Raj Upadhyay, who was assigned to coordinate the recommendation committee to suggest whether a new governor should be appointed, said that with the court's decision, Bhattarai's position remained at the original situation before the case was filed in court. "It is up to the government to decide whether Bhattarai should be reinstated given that the government has already appointed another governor," he added.

According to a member of the recommendation committee, they had suggested appointing a new governor by leaving space for the implementation of the SC verdict in the future. Responding to the government's request for recommendations from the Office of the Attorney General, Attorney General Bharat Karki said," We will furnish our suggestion within a day or two."
Source: eKantipur