Nepal sacks chief justice for fake date of birth

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s divisive Chief Justice Gopal Parajuli was sacked Wednesday for faking his date of birth in order to remain in office longer.

The controversy over Parajuli’s date of birth has been brewing for months after he charged a prominent activist and Nepal’s largest newspaper with contempt of court for raising concerns about his multiple birthdays.

A judicial council concluded that Parajuli should have retired seven months ago when he turned 65, the age of retirement for official positions in Nepal. “He has been removed from the post after the age of retirement was found to have been crossed last August in our investigation,” the council’s secretary Nripdhoj Niraula told AFP. The decision came just moments before Parajuli administered the oath of office to Nepal’s President Bidya Bhandari, who was reelected for a second term on Tuesday.