Legal practitioners continue sit-in, CJ Rana assigns nine benches for hearing

NL Today

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Kathmandu: Agitating legal practitioners demanding the resignation of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JBR have staged a sit-in at the main entrance of the Supreme Court on Wednesday as well.

The lawyers associated with the Nepal Bar Association (NBA), the umbrella organization of legal practitioners, have been waging protest for the past two weeks demanding CJ Rana’s resignation. Chief Justice Rana has been entering the apex court through the Office of Attorney General due to sit-in at the main entrance.

Meanwhile, the Chief Justice has assigned nine benches for hearing all types of cases including habeas corpus. The apex court started hearing all sorts of cases including habeas corpus on Tuesday. A total of four Justices have started hearing cases from yesterday.

Justices Tej Bahadur KC, Kumar Regmi, Bam Kumar Shrestha and Manoj Sharma heard all types of cases including the habeas corpus. Earlier, the apex court was hearing cases related to habeas corpus only.

Hearing at the apex court had remained suspended since the afternoon of October 24 as Justices had refused to be its part over the allegations that the CJ sought his share in the expansion of the Council of the Ministers.

The CJ has said he is competent to perform his duties, roles and responsibilities given by the Constitution and the law, and has also urged judges to fulfill given responsibilities. On Monday, he, through a press statement, called on the agitating side for the dialogue and pledged to implement the reports, including that submitted by judge Hari Krishna Karki, related to reforms in the Supreme Court.

The disruption in the hearing has caused inconveniences to service-seekers.