Learning from the problem faced by the Supreme Court in delivering a notice to Lokman Singh Karki, the suspended chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, the Impeachment Recommendation Committee (IRC) of Parliament has devised a provision to issue a public notice against the accused if s/he rejects to receive the summons.

According to the provision, the IRC will publish a notice in the state-run media to summon the accused for interrogation. The IRC, which will look into the impeachment case against Karki, will have to summon him for questioning. The impeachment motion will be forwarded to the IRC after theoretical discussion in the Legislature-Parliament. Karki will be summoned for clarification on the charges within seven days of the committee starting its work.

The working procedure also allows the committee to search the office and residence of the accused to gather evidence. “The IRC is authorised to investigate everything related to the accused,” said Dilnath Giri, a member of the committee. Theoretical discussion on the motion that started on Tuesday will commence after the House resumes business on November 10. The motion will then be sent to the committee which will have up to 30 days to study the allegations against Karki. The committee will determine whether the reasons given for impeachment are genuine before making its recommendations.

A total of 157 lawmakers in their impeachment motion have claimed that Karki breached his jurisdiction and violated the constitution.

The IRC will forward its recommendation(s) to Parliament which then will start clause-wise discussion. If the IRC members have conflicting views, a majority will take a decision.