Supreme Court stays NTA Chairman appointment

Digambar Jha- Disputed NTA Chairman.

The Supreme Court yesterday stayed the appointment of Digambar Jha to the post of Chairman of Nepal Telecommunications Authority.

Stating that Jha was not qualified for the post as per Section 5 of the Telecommunication Act, 1997, a division bench comprising Justices Kalyan Shrestha and Sushila Karki directed the government not to execute its decision appointing Jha as Chairman of NTA.

“He is a mechanical engineer and does not meet the prerequisite criteria of the Act, that requires specialisation in telecommunication or technical sector, administration or market management, accounts or auditing or even law to be eligible to apply for the post,” the bench said.

It also added that, “The employment may create a long term impact and loss in the telecommunication sector.”

Jha does not seem to even have bachelor level qualification in mechanical engineering, so he is not suitable to hold the post,” the bench stated.

On December 10, the apex court had issued show cause notice in the name of government authorities including the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Information and Communications on Jha’s appointment in response to a writ petition filed by his competitor Bishwonath Goyal and a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Jagannath Mishra.

On the first week of December, the government had appointed Jha Chairman of the telecommunication regulator.
Source: thehimalayantimes