According to Raman Kumar Shrestha, former general secretary of the Nepal Bar Association (NBA), some 151 lawyers are preparing to plead on behalf of Minister for Information and Communications Agni Sapkota, who has long been facing a murder charge.[break]
A group of human rights activists had filed a writ petition at the apex court against Sapkota nearly three weeks ago, claiming that Sapkota was the mastermind behind the killing of Arjun Lama, a Kavre local, during the conflict period.
"We have already filed the applications of 151 lawyers at the SC to plead on behalf of Sapkota," Shrestha said, adding, "The number could go up to 200."
Writ petitioners have demanded a stay order against Sapkota to stop him from discharging his duties as minister. The SC has already sought written clarifications from Sapkota and is beginning detailed hearings on whether to issue a stay order.
Asked about the reason behind such a large number of lawyers wishing to plead for Sapkota, Shrestha said, "The case is interlinked with the ongoing peace process. Not only so-called human rights activist, but also international forces are trying to scandalize the case, going beyond the spirit of the high-level political consensus to conclude the peace process". "Some elements are trying to interrupt the peace process and we want to foil any such conspiracy", he said.
Shrestha admitted that the entire legal wing of the UCPN (Maoist) is concentrating its energies on the legal battle. Apart from lawyers close to the Maoists, Senior Advocates Sushil Panta, Krishna Prasad Bhandari, Ram Nath Mainali, Supreme Court Bar President Krishna Sapkota and lawyers Shrestha, Bal Krishna Neupane, Prem Singh Dhami, Gopal Sibakoti Chintan, Laba Prasad Mainali, Shree Krishna Subedi and Sabita Bhandari Baral, among others, are pleading on behalf of Minister Sapkota.
Hiring lawyers costs money but lawyers sometimes volunteer to plead for free.
"Money is a secondary thing in this case. We are ready to pay the laywers´ fees," lawyer Dhami told Republica.
Meanwhile, a dozen lawyers are pleading on behalf of the writ petitioners. According to Govinda Prasad Bandi, one of leading lawyers pleading the petitioners´ case, Senior Advocates Sarbagya Ratna Tuladhar, Harihar Dahal, Laxmi Nirala, Nepal Bar Association President Prem Bahadur Khadka, lawyers Hari Krishna Karki, Tika Ram Bhattarai, Megh Raj Pokharel, Hari Phuyal and Ramesh Badal, among others, will plead from the petitioners´ side.
"We believe in quality hearings rather than quantity, said Bandi, adding, "We are not in favor of parading a crowd of lawyers before the bench."
Both lawyers pleading for the writ petitioners and those for the defense have divided their roles, responsibilities and subjects for pleading before the bench. The subjects for pleading includes democratic norms, justice, human rights and rule of law, among others.
Will the SC allow all 151 or more to plead before the bench? "The bench can issue rulings on time management but cannot prevent any lawyer from pleading," said SC Assistant Spokesperson Hemanta Rawal, adding, "The bench can allocate a certain time for the hearings if it feels that these could take a long time."
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