Public Hearing Proviso Draws Lawyers' Flak

President of Nepal Bar Association, Bishwokanta Mainali, on Monday said that the constitutional provision seeking public hearing on nominees before their appointment as Supreme Court judges is in violation of the independence of the judiciary."We cannot accept such a provision because it does not make the judiciary independent," he said, adding, "This provision will politicise the judiciary.""This provision also shows that parliamentarians have been making decisions without taking the sensitivity of the institution into account," he said. "Why the parliament took such a decision without consulting the Supreme Court and the NBA?"Mainali was speaking at a programme organised here to welcome Motikaji Sthapit and Basudev Dhungana, the newly-appointed members of the judicial council.Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel called on the judiciary and the NBA to work together to protect the independence of the judiciary. "Vested interests will benefit if we are divided," Paudel said.MP and lawyer Harihar Dahal said, "Though we opposed the insertion of the provision in the constitution, the parliament gave its nod."Former president of the NBA, Shambhu Thapa, and senior advocate Krishna Prasad Bhandari urged the judicial leadership to curb corruption in the judiciary.