Supreme Court begins assigning cases by drawing lots

KATHMANDU, The Supreme Court has begun forming benches and assigning cases by drawing lots from Wednesday. Previously, the chief justice would enjoy the prerogative.

Justices of the apex court had last week decided to begin the new system by today.

On November 22, an amendment to the Supreme Court regulations was published in the government’s official gazette, paving way for the new system.

A meeting of the Supreme Court justices on November 18 had decided to introduce the new system.

The new system would curtail significant rights of not just incumbent Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Rana, who has been accused of partiality of late, but any other chief justice in the future also.

As per the new system, the chief justice, from now onwards, cannot assign cases to justices and their benches as he pleases. Instead, there has been introduced a lot-drawing system to decide which justice will hear which cases.

One of the many accusations that Chief Justice Rana has been facing currently is he has been assigning political cases to justices close to him so as to issue a verdict in the party’s favour from which he can demand undue benefits.

Despite the introduction of the new system, the Nepal Bar Association, the umbrella organisation of Nepali lawyers, however, is unlikely to end its protests without Rana resigning.