Kathmandu, February:

The Supreme Court today sought the copy of the fiscal year budget speech in order to examine the expansion case of the apex court benches.

A single bench of Justice Gauri Dhakal issued the order to submit the concerned provision of the budget speech, which has proposed to expand the benches of the Supreme Court in Biratnagar and Nepalgunj.

The bench’s order came following today’s hearing after senior advocate and former Attorney General Badri Bahadur Karki, and advocates Madhav Kumar Basnet and Sudip Paudel

argued before the bench that the benches of the apex court could not be expanded.

Through the budget of the fiscal year 2008/09, the government has proposed to expand the benches of the apex court in order to provide the easy access to justice of the locals in Biratnagar and Nepalgunj.

Challenging the government move, a group of advocates including Basnet had filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court.

The petitioners have claimed that the benches of the Supreme Court can not be expanded from the budget speech as it is against the independence of the judiciary to expand the benches through the administrative order.