NBA had been taking to the streets to protest against the apex court´s move to quash all the 17 writ petitions relating to the president´s orders on removing constitutional difficulties and paving the way for the appointment of Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi as chairman of the present election government.[break]
With the signing of the three-point agreement, NBA, the umbrella organization of lawyers, agreed to withdraw all their remaining protest programs.
A full bench of Acting Chief Justice Damodar Prasad Sharma and Justices Prakash Wasti and Tarka Raj Bhatta earlier this month issued the order to quash the petitions on which no hearings had been conducted.
Under the first point in the deal, the two sides have agreed to convert the existing High Level Committee to Solve Judicial Problems into a Bar-Bench Coordination Committee. The new body will oversee the overall issues related to the Bar and the Supreme Court and settle these through mutual understanding.
“Under the second point, both the sides have agreed to ensure that henceforth fair and meaningful hearings will be conducted and made more effective as per the concept of an independent judiciary,” NBA General Secretary Sunil Pokharel told Republica. This point was included with a view to allay the concerns that have grown as a result of the SC´s move to quash the 17 petitions without conducting any hearings on them.
The two sides also agreed to convene an interaction meeting next month, where they will discuss how to address the problem of case backlog and make the task of case management more effective, among other issues.
Four top office-bearers of NBA and its three former presidents were among those who represented the association during the talks while Acting Chief Justice Sharma and other SC justices, among other top officials from the apex court, represented the SC.
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