Kathmandu, July 22:

The Supreme Court registrar has signed an agreement with his junior staff to focus on curbing irregularities in the judiciary.

The agreement also expressed commitment to discourage the practice of holding programmes in costly five-star hotels.

SC registrar Dr Ram Krishna Timalsena signed the agreement with the organisations of junior staff to bring reforms in the judiciary, as the latter had been raising voices against corruption and irregularities in the judiciary. The apex court will issue circulars to the lower courts to follow the 20-point agreement.

Both parties have agreed to ask Chief Justice to investigate the alleged corruption by Timalsena’s nephew, who had won a contract to instal information technology infrastructure in the SC.

The administration and the court employees’ organisations have agreed to keep intact the records of goods purchased by the judicial offices concerned.

They also agreed to put before the full court meetings of SC justices the agenda of taking action against judges and lower court registrars in connections with their involvement in corruption.

The SC administration expressed commitment to produce monthly budget estimation before the staff meeting and make public the budget allocated by the government on monthly and annual basis.

The chairs of apex court braches of Nepal Rastriya Nijamati Karmachari Sangathan Bishnu Prasad Pandey, Nepal Nijamati Karmachari Union Tara Kumar Shrestha and Nepal Nijamati Karmachari Sangathan Som Raj Kafle signed agreement on behalf of the staffers.

The two sides also agreed to bring effective reforms in National Judicial Academy and organise training for junior staff and to call the Chief Justice to set up a committee under a justice of the apex court to promulgate a separate law to make equal service conditions and facilities of the judges and the court staffers.

They also agreed to end dual facilities enjoyed by the judges and to effectively implement the code of conduct of the judges.