KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 14

Lawyers associated with Nepal Bar Association staged a sit-in at the main entrance of the Supreme Court to prevent Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana from entering the court. However, Rana used a different gate to enter the court.

This is the second day in a row lawyers staged a sit-in at the SC to prevent CJ Rana from entering the court.

Nepal Bar Association, Supreme Court Bar Association and dissident justices of the Supreme Court have been protesting against CJ Rana accusing him of seeking to appoint his brother-inlaw minister in the Sher Bahadur Deuba Cabinet and delaying hearings of the cases filed against the appointments made in constitutional bodies.

A group of people carrying the national flag protested against the NBA sit-in.

'The 'pro-Rana protesters' demanded resumption of case hearings. They carried placards that read: 'Maintain the rule of law and not the rule of pressure,' 'when can we see our case listed in the cause list?' These groups effectively protested against the NBA and dissidents n favour of CJ Rana.

Addressing a corner meeting on the premises of NBA , President Chandeshwor Shrestha of the umbrella body of lawyers called the 'pro-Rana protesters' middlemen and Mandale (pro panchayat/monarchy supporters) and warned them not to obstruct the protesting lawyers in their fight against CJ Rana. He also warned the 'pro-Rana supporters' not to misuse the national flag. Shrestha said CJ Rana had been indulging in the sale of justice and the NBA had already impeached him, albeit the Parliament, with the formal authority to impeach Rana, had not yet done so. Shrestha said that if political parties delayed Rana's impeachment, they would regret their decision.

President of the Supreme Court Bar Association Purna Man Shakya said they had heard some people talking about limiting the CJ's role but letting him continue in office, but CJ Rana's resignation was the bottomline and the bar associations would not settle for less than Rana's resignation. He said the bar association would continue to fight for the judiciary's reform after CJ Rana's resignation.

Former Attorney General Badri Bahadur Karki said CJ Rana had no moral power to sit on the chair of the Chief Justice. He said CJ Rana had been indulging in irregularity as he was often found postponing the last hearings of the case.

'The CJ is the source of all the problems plaguing the judiciary now. Hence, he must quit,' he said. Karki said that the lawyers' protest should be taken seriously.

'In the course of application of laws, sometimes public inquiry is ordered and the evidence collected through this process is considered vital.

The ongoing protest of lawyers who are calling CJ Rana bad and inefficient, is also like a public inquiry against CJ Rana which should be deemed valid by all,' Karki argued. He took a swipe at political parties saying that those who are allowing CJ Rana to act like a dictator would have to pay the price.

Rana formed benches for 16 justices but did not assign any case to himself. Dissident lawyers, however, did not conduct hearing for other than habeas corpus writ petitions.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 15, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.