Parmanand Jha


Parmanand Jha is a Nepali politician who served as the first Vice President of Nepal from 23 July 2008 to 31 October 2015. Previously he served as a Supreme Court judge. He was born and brought up in Darbhanga district in the Indian State of Bihar with his maternal uncle's home to a Nepali parents - according to Hindu traditions. His father's belongs to historical Mithila region of Nepal, and so he is a descendant native citizen and federal subject of Nepal. Jha resigned as a judge in December 2007 after he was not proposed by the Judicial Council as a permanent judge at the apex court, following allegations of involvement in drug smuggling. Later, Jha joined political life and became a member of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, one of several organizations agitating against dominance of Nepal's politics by the minority ruling elite Bahuns of Pahari population against the Madhesi origin Nepalis. On 19 July 2008, he was elected as Vice-President of Nepal by the Constituent Assembly.
He began his first term of office as Vice-President of Nepal on 23 July 2008 by taking the oath of office from President Ram Baran Yadav at the Sheetal Niwas Presidential Palace in Maithili in the presence of Prime Minister Girijaprasad Koirala and others.

Hindi oath controversy

Jha's legitimacy as Vice-President was challenged for taking the oath of office in Hindi by Nepalis. Jha's mother tongue is Maithili but he is also fluent in Hindi, Bengali, and English.
A written petition was filed by Advocate Balkrishna Neupane at the apex court claiming that the oath was unconstitutional as it was taken in a language not recognized by the interim constitution. After a year long court procedure, the Supreme Court on 24 July 2009 ordered Jha to retake the oath of office and secrecy for the second time "in accordance with the Constitution," ruling that taking oath in Hindi was not constitutional.
However, Jha objected to the Supreme Court verdict, accusing the court of being biased and of conflict of interests. He stated that he would decide whether or not to retake the oath after consulting political parties and the "people he represents," i.e., the Madhesias who principally speak Maithili and Bhojpuri. He demanded changes to the law to ensure that all languages "are given due respect."
The Supreme Court's deadline for retaking the oath expired on 30 August 2009. As Jha did not swear once again the oath of office, the office was considered to have become vacant from 31 August 2009. In order to maintain political and ethnic inclusiveness, the Nepalese government did not seek a new Vice-President but continued to work with Jha towards a compromise, seeking to re-instate him. Changes were made to the law to allow the oath of office to be taken in native ethnic languages, e.g., Jha's native Maithili, and on 7 February 2010, he accordingly took a fresh oath of office as Vice-President in the Maithili language.