KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 20
Nepal Bar Association, which has been staging sit-in and organising corner meetings at the Supreme Court against Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana, has decided to intensify its protest across the country.
According to Vice-president of NBA Rakshya Basyal, the NBA has decided to halt pleading in all courts across the country except in habeas corpus writ petitions. Basyal said the NBA decided to intensify its protest against CJ Rana as he had continued to refuse to resign from his post. She said the NBA would not stop its protests until CJ Rana stepped down.
On Wednesday, the NBA is organising corner meetings in all high courts and their benches across the country.
The NBA and dissident justices of the Supreme Court have been protesting against CJ Rana seeking his resignation for allegedly seeking to get his brother-inlaw appointed in Sher Bahadur Deuba's Cabinet and delaying hearings of cases filed against appointments made in the constitutional bodies.
The NBA will submit memorandums to political parties and parliamentary parties on Monday to inform them why it was protesting against the CJ.
Basyal said that the NBA would continue to press for judicial reforms even after CJ Rana's resignation. She said that CJ Rana's argument that there was no corruption in the judiciary was false.
"We wouldn't protest if there was no corruption and anomalies in the judiciary," she said.
Recently, CJ Rana had said in a television interview that Justice Hari Krishna Karki-led committee had pointed out the corrupt behaviour and anomalies that afflicted the judiciary in the past, and at present during his tenure there was no problem of corruption in the judiciary.
Asked if the NBA would urge political parties to impeach the CJ, Basyal said that was up to the political parties and the NBA's intent was to inform the political parties about the rationale for its protests.
On Tuesday the NBA will halt all proceedings, including the submission of pleading notes, filing of petitions, cases and written responses and writ petitions. Basyal said that the protesting lawyers would continue their protest at the Supreme Court.
NBA President Chandeshwor Shrestha said that their protest would become political parties' concerns from Monday after NBA submitted its memorandum to the political parties. He said civil society members would also soon join their protest to force the CJ to step down.
He said his office had rejected CJ Rana's talks offer as his resignation was the bottomline of the lawyers' umbrella body. "CJ Rana is not fit to hold the post anymore.
Allowing him to remain in office means allowing corrupt behaviour and anomalies to flourish in the judiciary," he argued.
Shrestha said that dissident justices amended the SC regulations to introduce lottery-based cause list, which would effectively bar CJ Rana from preparing the cause list. Shrestha, however, said the NBA would not accept the amended regulation if it allowed the CJ to remain in his post.
"The chief justice is the chief of judicial administration and he plays a role in the appointment of judges and constitutional post holders. We have seen how appointments have become controversial. Allowing CJ Rana to continue as chief of judicial administration will mean that the current anomalies will continue,"
Shrestha said. CJ Rana also stands accused of sharing the spoils of appointment.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 21, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
