Penpa Tsering, the ousted former representative of the Office of Tibet in Washington, Central Tibetan Administration’s (CTA) mission in North America, filed a case in May 2018 with the exile Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission [TSJC]. His petition challenged the reasons cited by Kashag [Cabinet of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile] for his termination of Office.
Penpa Tsering categorically stated that the allegations made by the Kashag were untrue, incomplete and manipulative. The Kashag, in a circular issued on Nov 7, 2017, gave Chapter 1 Article 1(3) of the Tibetan Charter and Article 19(1) of the Tibetan Public Service Commission as the reason. It further issued a ten-point clarification on its decision and cited growing trust deficit, underperformance and insubordination amidst increasing public outrage against the dismissal.
On October 14, 2019, the court ruled in favour of Penpa Tsering. The session lasted nearly five hours in which the Chief Justice Commissioner Kargyu Dhondup went through minutes of the case. The plaintiff, Penpa Tsering, was able to prove all five points of his defence whereas the defendant team failed to prove any of its 14 mandatory points.
The Chief Justice Commissioner decreed that the defamatory allegations made against the plaintiff were unsubstantiated and ordered the Kashag to issue a public apology and clarification within a month through the official CTA website and various media channels. The defendant was further tasked to compensate for the lawyer fees of the plaintiff.
Home Minister Mr Sonam Topgyal called the verdict “unexpected” and said that the Tibetan cabinet will, however, honour it. The Kashag in an announcement stated that it would abide by the judgement to maintain the stability of the CTA and unity of the Tibetan people.
However, despite a delay of over a month, the Kashag hasnot yet responded to the verdict. On November 13, CTA’s English website posted an image of the court’s verdict accompanied by the below announcement:
The verdict of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission on Case No20 announced on October 14 has been unsatisfactory to us. There are also large number of petitions from [the] general public expressing feelings of sadness, unjust and disappointment against the verdict. However, in order to maintain the unity and stability within our community, we respect the aforesaid verdict and call upon all people to remain vigilant and be responsible in maintaining peace and harmony.
Penpa Tsering is now reported as planning to file a contempt petition against the Kashag. The contempt petition, if filed and admitted, will be heard by the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission headed by the new Chief Justice Commissioner Mr Sonam Norbu Dagpo.
The apex court of the exile Tibetan administration, the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission, has issued an ultimatum to the Kashag [Cabinet of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile] in response to their failure to act on the instruction from the court to apologise to Pempa Tsering, The court says they are to to publish their apology by December 27 or face consequences, which could include revoking their eligibility to run the office as per the constitution of the Central Tibetan Administration.
Print
Email