DHARAMSHALA, NOV. 14: The Kashag or the cabinet of the Tibetan government in exile officially known as the Central Tibetan Administration has not responded to the verdict announced by the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission (TSJC) in the case no. 20.
The defamation case was filed in May 2018 by Penpa Tsering, the former representative of the office in North America, against Kashag led by Lobsang Sangay, Sikyong of the Tibetan administration.
The then Chief Justice Commissioner Kargyu Dhondup acquitted the plaintiff Penpa Tsering from all the charges formulated in the 10 points clarification posted in the official websites of Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). The verdict ordered the defendant to issue an apology and clarification for the same through CTA’s official outlets and also to compensate INR 98,700 for the plaintiff’s lawyer fee.
A month long duration was given to the Kashag to issue an apology in both Tibetan and English, to be published in all their bulletins and publications. However, they have failed to publish any formal apology yet. On 13th Nov, CTA’s English website posted an image of the court’s verdict that was accompanied by an announcement which read:
The verdict of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission on Case No.20 announced on October 14th has been unsatisfactory to us. There are also large number of petitions from 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.
Kashag’s secretariat denied giving any statement regarding the matter when approached for a response today. The Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission (TSJC) also chose to refrain from commenting on the delay of the apology. According to the guidelines of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission, the court cannot pursue the case once the verdict is out and there is a due process to submit an application in a month’s time for further action from the court.
