KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 3

The Nepali Congress-associated Democratic Lawyers' Association Nepal and Progressive and Professional Lawyers' Association Nepal have issued press releases hinting that they were not on the same page with the Nepal Bar Association and the Supreme Court Bar Association that have asked Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana to quit.

The authenticity of the PPLA release issued by its Acting Chairperson Rama Shrestha was contested by Rudra Prasad Nepal who issued a separate statement saying that he was the chairperson of the group and the press release issued by Shrestha was not valid.

DLA and Shrestha-led PPLA expressed their displeasure against dissident justices for refusing to hear cases other than habeas corpus petitions. Shrestha-led PPLA said justices' attempt to keep themselves away from the justice delivery duty in the name of consultation was against the judicial duty and not a wise decision. It also said that it supported the effort to seek solution to problems within the confines of the constitution. This is an indication that the Shrestha-led PPLA does not support the NBA and the SCBA's demand that Rana resign from his post.

Rana has said that if anybody wanted him to go, then they should follow the constitutional path. As per the constitutional provision, the only way to remove the CJ is through the process of impeachment.

DLA said in its release that a probe must be ordered against the chief justice and other justices who were accused of deviation from duty and the guilty must be punished.

Senior Advocate Gandhi Pandit, who is a professor of law, said the DLA's statement that dissident justices should return to the bench was wrong as that could lower the pressure against CJ Rana.

'Lawyers are fighting for structural reform which will begin with Rana's resignation,' he said. He added that political parties had inserted provisions in the constitution and the Judicial Council Act in a way that gave them space to have their influence in the judiciary and such things should be removed from those laws through amendment.

SCBA President Purna Man Shakya said his office would hold a virtual meeting with all 90 bar units after Tihar and devise a strategy for the next phase of protest against the CJ. 'Parties incorporated a provision in the constitution whereby justices are suspended when 25 per cent lawmakers move a motion of impeachment, but the president does not get suspended when article of impeachment is invoked against the head of state. How can the judiciary be free from political interference in the wake of such a provision?' he wondered.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 4, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.