Kathmandu, September 21:

The lawyers today boycotted court proceedings across the country, protesting the Supreme Court (SC) full-court meeting last Thursday. The apex court suspended the licence of Bishwo Kanta Mainali, senior advocate and president of Nepal Bar Association (NBA).

“Some cases were decided where there was no need of lawyers,” said Dr Ram Krishna Timalsena, registrar, SC. The stir is likely to continue till Tuesday.

Chief Justice Kedar Prasad Giri and senior-most Justice Min Bahadur Rayamajhi held informal talks to find a solution to the ongoing controversy, Legal experts said the SC should resolve the conflict between the judiciary and the lawyers’ through settlement.

Harihar Dahal, senior advocate and an ex-NBA president, said the judiciary should take the initiative to hold a meeting to end the deadlock. He blamed the apex court judges for taking the decision sans exercising any sort of self-restraint. Dahal accused the SC of meddling with the Nepal Bar Council, which is empowered to revoke the license of a lawyer if s/he is involved in any misconduct. Pawan Kumar Ojha, former ad hoc judge of the SC, too, blamed the apex court of rash decision.

NBA president Mainali said that he had commented on judicial corruption in jurisprudential perspectives. But the media perceived it in a different light. “I raised it to control corruption so that the judiciary’s image is not tarnished,” he explained.