Tarai court staffers’ plight: SC panel seeks preventive measures

A panel of judges formed to look into the plight of judges and court officials in the Tarai region has suggested the government adopt preventive measures to protect their lives.The panel set up by the Supreme Court and comprising Ram Prasad Shrestha, Sharada Prasad Pundit and Rajendra Kumar Bhandari submitted its report to Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel today.The report says that the government should provide additional security and a common residence to the judges and the court staffers working in the region.It says the government should tackle political problems in the Tarai through meaningful dialogue and other problems that do not concern politics by taking stringent measures.The panel has further said the government should handle the problems in a “concrete manner” as they are not specific problems of court staffers.According to the report, all civil servants stationed in the Tarai districts such as Rautahat, Siraha, Bara, Parsa, Sarlahi, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Nawalparasi, Kapilvastu, Rupandehi, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali, Kanchanpur and Dang have been facing similar problems.The panel also says that the problems could be solved to some extent by keeping Tarai-born staffers in the Tarai region and those born in the hills in the hilly areas.The report has also accused the media of publishing and broadcasting news items that threaten social harmony. It suggested the government take action against such media houses under the Press and Publication Act 1992.“Such an action is needed in order to bring the situation back to normal,” it says.“The government and the political parties failed to initiate any programme to restore normalcy in the region. Political parties, intellectuals and lawyers should concentrate on launching social programmes to address the various problems plaguing the country,” the panel concludes.