Expressing serious reservations over a controversial verdict relating to Rs 61 billion tax waiver handed down by the Supreme Court in the recent past, newly-appointed Law Minister Sher Bahadur Tamang has spoken of placing the justices responsible for issuing such a verdict under scrutiny.

According to My Republica as a press conference organized, the progress made so far in the formulation of various federal and provincial laws, Minister Tamang claimed that several cases of tax waiver involving billions of rupees have been the subject of interim orders from the Supreme Court.

“These cases must have drawn the attention of many. If any case of tax evasion is found to have been settled under undue influence, it shall be scrutinized and those responsible shall not be spared,” he said.

Tamang claimed that there had been corruption involving billions in tax-related cases.

“So, we will look at the verdicts in such cases. The Judicial Council (JC) can also study such verdicts. The Judicial Council Act has clearly provided the authority to study such verdicts, but there has not been any such study so far,” he said.

He said that as authorized by the JC Act, the government is working to purify the judiciary and make it more pro-people.

“These efforts will not undermine the independence of the judiciary, but will rather help to enhance it,” he further said.  “We will first see the nature of the cases. We will then activate the judiciary.”

The minister said there have been precedents where some justices faced action over controversial verdicts. His ministry was currently working to amend the Judicial Council Act to make the judiciary independent.

Venting ire against the current practice of justices and judges attending functions organized and sponsored by INGOs, he said the amendment would give additional priority to the code of conduct for justices and judges in order to ensure speedy justice delivery.