NBA protests against appointment of judges

KATHMANDU, Sept 25: The Nepal Bar Association (NBA) has staged a protest, stating that Chief Justice Bishwoambhar Prasad Shrestha who is about to retire has initiated a process to appoint judges. The NBA has announced a protest program, stating that the Chief Justice Bishwoambhar Prasad Shrestha, along with the Judicial Council officials, including the proposed Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut, are attempting to make decisions regarding the appointment of judges.

The NBA has launched a movement, stating that the appointment process is being initiated without making a decision on the report of the committee studying amendments to the Judicial Council Regulations.

The NBA has issued a statement warning that no judges should be appointed to the high courts until the rules of the Judicial Council (JC) are amended.

The NBA has been urging the Chief Justice not to hold the council meeting, as a new Chief Justice is under recommendation and the hearings are ongoing.

The council is preparing to recommend four chief judges currently working at high courts for the Supreme Court. The JC intends to elevate the chief judges of the high courts - Nirpa Dhwoj Niraula, Nityanand Pandey, Ramesh Prasad Rajbhandari, and Shreekant Paudel - to the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Shrestha will retire on October 4 due to the age limit of 65 years.