Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, July 13:

The Kathmandu District Court (KDC) will turn into a pilot court from tomorrow, with assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to strengthen the rule of law in the country.

According to the KDC registrar, Balabhadra Banstola, all necessary infrastructure has been developed to announce the KDC as a pilot court.

According to him, the KDC would be the seventh pilot court in the country and the first pilot court in Kathmandu Valley.

“A separate bench will be set up for hearing criminal and civil cases separately,” Banstola said. He added there were 2,500 criminal cases and 37,000 civil cases pending at the KDC, as around 8,000 cases are registered with the KDC per year. According to him, five judges will hear criminal cases and seven judges will hear civil cases.

Banstola also said UNDP has provided 30 computers in order to keep records of the KDC and is also providing support for training of the staff. He said the court would computerise all the two lakh record files related to cases. “We expect that justice will be meted out quickly,” he added. Mor-ang, Nepalgunj, Kashki, Chitwan, Siraha and Syanja district courts have been acting as model courts with assistance from the UNDP. The UN body has been assisting the judiciary since the last two years.