Kathmandu, May 26:

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Subhash Chandra Nemwang, today said there is an urgent need to make the courts accountable and their activities transparent.

“The courts have to be made accountable and their activities transparent as people have been suspecting corruption in the judiciary,” Nemwang said and urged civil society members to come up with suggestions for the same.

Nemwang, who is also a prominent legal expert, said that though no judges have faced impeachment so far nor have they faced action from the Judicial Council, it does not mean that there is no corruption in the judiciary.

He was addressing a programme organisd here to launch a book, Corruption in Judiciary, written by journalist Baburam Dhakal.

Nemwang added that the parliament had seriously debated on how to make the judges accountable while amending the Anti-corruption Act and the CIAA Act in 2002.

Advocate Prakash Osti said judges who faced corruption charges and resigned are now drawing pension from the government. “This does not at all help control corruption in the judiciary and does not also promote the integrity of the judges.

It is surprising that tainted judges who should have been facing corruption charges are enjoying pension facilities,” he said.

He added that lawyers, judges and other officials in the sector are responsible for encouraging corruption in courts.

The Law Minister of the interim government that was formed after democracy was restored in 1990, Nilambar Acharya, said as corruption is rife in the courts, proper action should be taken against the guilty.

Former Minister and civil society leader Dr Devendra Raj Pandey said judges have been using the contempt of court action only to protect themselves.