KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 31

Lawyers protested at the Supreme Court demanding that Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana, who has been accused of seeking to appoint his brother-in-law as a minister in the Sher Bahadur Deuba Cabinet and delaying the hearing of cases filed against appointments to the constitutional bodies, resign from his post.

Heeding the call of the Nepal Bar Association and the Supreme Court Bar Association, lawyers protested against Rana by tying black armbands. The NBA and the Supreme Court Bar Association have sought CJ Rana's resignation for the alleged quid pro quo deal with the executive.

The NBA has threatened to stage nationwide protests if Rana doesn't step down. Rana has, however, refused to quit.

SCBA President Purna Man Shakya said bar associations would continue to protest for four days and if Rana stayed put, they would launch the second phase of protests after Tihar and Chhath.

Case hearing remains stalled for days as Supreme Court Justices who have sought CJ Rana's resignation have effectively boycotted the benches. Today, only CJ Rana conducted hearing in two cases.

The NBA and the SCBA have decided to boycott all kinds of proceedings unless CJ Rana resigns from his post.

Senior Advocate Shambhu Thapa, who is also a former NBA president, told mediapersons today that lawyers could continue their protest till Rana's tenure ended. He said the NBA was one of the two wheels of the judiciary and Rana had no option but to quit when it asked him to. 'Lawyers are more than officers of the court and when they asked CJ Rana to quit he should have done so,' Thapa added.

He said the NBA was seeking Rana's resignation as he had failed to free the judiciary of anomalies. 'CJ Rana had said in a bench that he would recuse in a particular case, but he has not been able to conduct the hearing of that case. If the chief justice cannot conduct a hearing then we are not bound to accept him as the chief justice,' Thapa said referring to Rana's decision to recuse from cases filed against appointments to the constitutional bodies. He alleged Rana was trying to unduly influence lawyers and mediapersons to speak in his favour.

Meanwhile, all other justices who are one on seeking Rana's resignation today informally formed a three-member committee comprising justices Sapana Pradhan Malla, Anil Kumar Sinha, and Manoj Kumar Sharma to talk to Rana. 'The committee will listen to Rana's views on the stalemate. Justices want the CJ to quit, but the CJ has refused to step down, leading to a stalemate,' a Supreme Court source said. He added that the committee would also listen to ways of graceful exit if the CJ so suggested.

'Lawyers can continue their protest till Chief Justice Rana's tenure ends'

A version of this article appears in the print on November 1, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.