A month since his recommendation, the Parliamentary Hearing Committee is still undecided about the hearing of election commissioner nominee Krishna Man Pradhan.

The Constitutional Council, headed by then-prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who also chairs the CPN (Maoist Centre), unanimously nominated Pradhan for the position on June 16. Speaker Devraj Ghimire, National Assembly chair Narayan Dahal, Chief Justice Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha, and Deputy Speaker Indira Rana approved the nomination without question. Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, who was leader of the main opposition at the time, also gave his stamp of approval.

Three days after the council’s recommendation, the hearing committee solicited complaints against him as per its standard procedure. The committee on July 4 held discussions with a complainant with a plan to quiz Pradhan the next day. However, the hearing process was postponed indefinitely after the complainant claimed that Pradhan exploited her sexually for five years.

Though cross-party lawmakers on the committee claimed that they would conduct the hearing after studying the matter, they are still undecided. “I will talk to committee members about a meeting after the prime minister’s vote of confidence [in the House],” Mahesh Bartaula, the CPN-UML chief whip, told the Post. “We must make the right decision on the matter.”

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is going for the floor test on Sunday.

It has been 35 days since Pradhan was recommended. He will automatically get the position if the committee doesn't make any decision in the next 10 days.

Legally, the committee must reach a decision on the recommendations made by the Constitutional Council within 45 days, or else the recommendation is considered endorsed.

Clause 26 (2) of the Federal Parliament Joint Meeting and Joint Committee (Work Execution) Regulation states that the appointment of the nominee will go unaffected if the committee fails to send its opinion to the authority concerned within 45 days.

Samim Miya Ansari, the chairman nominee for the National Muslim Commission, had been appointed to the position in 2019 as the committee failed to do its duty within the deadline.

Jag Prasad Sharma, a Maoist Centre representative in the committee, said the hearing was delayed as two of its members have become ministers and it is still not sure when their parties will send replacements.

Ramesh Lekhak, a Nepali Congress member on the committee, is the new home minister while UML's Devendra Dahal leads the physical infrastructure ministry in the Oli Cabinet.

Asked whether the committee would miss the 45-day deadline, Sharma said, "I believe the committee will take some decision before the deadline." He, however, failed to say when the hearing will take place.

The hearing committee is in a dilemma over whether to reject the recommendation. It is not easy for them to reject him because their top leaders made the decision at the council. Approval is not easy either, because the woman has levelled serious allegations against Pradhan. The person holding a constitutional position must have a high moral ground, says the Constitution of Nepal.

Appearing before the committee, the woman had said, “I filed the complaint to stop such a morally corrupt person taking the constitutional position. How can you approve his nomination?”

A two-thirds majority of the 15-strong committee, which has lawmakers from both chambers of Parliament, can reject the nomination.

Pradhan is the executive director of the Nepal Law Society. An expert on electoral reforms and governance, he has held this position since 2000 and reportedly has good rapport with political and judicial leadership.