A member of the Judicial Council retired on Friday, further pushing back the appointment of Supreme Court and high court judges.

The five-member council has been reduced to four after senior advocate Ram Prasad Shrestha completed his four-year tenure. He retired before the council picks around two dozen judges for two tiers of courts.

This week, the council made some unsuccessful attempts to fill the vacant positions. The council on Tuesday was scheduled to discuss the names but failed to do so as the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ajay Chaurasiya didn’t show up at the meeting. He said he couldn’t return from his hometown Birgunj on time because his flight was delayed.

While four justice positions are lying vacant in the Supreme Court, different high courts are short of 18 judges. Now holding council’s meeting will be possible only after Shrestha's replacement.

Led by the chief justice, senior most Supreme Court justice, the law minister and two advocates—recommended one each by the government and the Nepal Bar Association (NBA)—are members of the council. As Shrestha represented the umbrella body of lawyers, his replacement will be recommended.

A letter has already been sent to the Bar Association for the recommendation, said an official at the council. One picked by the association must get through the parliamentary hearing process, before getting the recommendation. The entire process will take at least three-four weeks which means the vacant positions will not be fulfilled any time soon.

As the tussle between the judiciary and NBA over the amendment to the council’s regulation continues, it is not sure when it will send its representatives. The amendment has been done in a way that the chief registrar of the Supreme Court or the council secretary, if appointed a high court judge, would be ranked immediately below the chief judge of the high court.

The association wants the provision revoked, calling it regressive, biased, discriminatory, arbitrary, and unconstitutional and arguing that it contradicts the principles established by Supreme Court’s verdicts. It claims that the amended regulations unfairly demote judges appointed from among lawyers, placing them below career judges in the hierarchy.

The NBA has called for rolling back the amendments before making any appointments. “We might not delay in sending our representative. However, appointment of judges without revoking the amendment is unacceptable. We will ensure our representative speaks our voice,” said an NBA office-bearer.

Claiming that Shrestha, the council member, had acted against its stand, it had decided to recall him. He, however, refused.

On September 27 the Bishwombhar Prasad Shrestha-led council had picked Nripa Dhwoj Niroula and Nityananda Pandey, both high court chief judges, for the Supreme Court.

The council has not been able to make any recommendations after Prakash Man Singh Raut became the chief justice.

The Supreme Court has never been in full shape for over two years now.