Kathmandu, March 1:

A four-day conference of lawyers from across the country began here today to mark the golden jubilee of the Nepal Bar Association.

Speaking on the occasion, NBA chief Shambhu Thapa urged the King to respect the Supreme Court verdict on RCCC case. He said the court has clearly stated that the state authority and sovereignty rests on people and hence the King must respect the verdict.

Former SC justice Laxman Prasad Aryal also urged the King to immediately dissolve the present government and respect the SC verdict on RCCC case. He said the series of audiences by the king in the past few days were not going to solve the problem. “Audiences to his own servants cannot solve the crisis,” he added.

The conference with slogans demanding inclusive democracy, independence of judiciary and human rights protection in the country was inaugurated by SC justice Anup Raj Sharma, who was also the chief guest at the function.

The meet is being participated by around 2,000 lawyers across the country and a close door session is expected to discuss about the political and constitutional crises facing the country.

Inaugurating the meet, justice Sharma said, “People have the right to decide on anything and if they want, they can change even the Constitution.” He also added that people have the right to decide what kind of political system they want. “If they want inclusive democracy, they can have it,” Sharma said.

The bar body did not invite Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel and ad hoc judge Pawan Kumar Ojha in the function as it has been boycotting them “for failing to protect independence of judiciary and human rights”.

Sharma, who was one of the five-member special bench that recently scrapped the controversial Royal Commission for Corruption Control, said conflict facing the nation needs political solution and professional organisations like NBA can play a key role to inspire and motivate politicians to resolve the crisis.