Nepal Bar Association (NBA) Chairman Bishwa Kant Mainali has advised judiciary to deal with political issues sensitively, keeping in mind the possibility of conflicts at a time when the country is passing through a transitional phase.

Speaking at the inauguration of a two-day conference of Supreme Court justices and chief judges of appellate courts on Thursday, Mainali said the current phase of transition and its vulnerability demands that the judiciary be more sensitive.

“The justices should not try to be populist at a critical time like this. The judiciary should refrain from showing judicial activism at a time when the country is in transition,” said Mainali.

He suggested to Chief Justice Anup Raj Sharma to ward off conflicts by discussing sensitive cases with all justices and deliver verdicts on the basis of consensus. Only last week, Sharma had issued an interim order, staying the government decision to promote Maj. Gen. Toran Jung Bahadur Singh. The judiciary today, said Mainali, is like a ship caught up in a storm. “If the captain lacks skills, the ship might sink.”

“On certain issues, the judiciary should not take decisions in a hurry,” said Mainali. He noted that the Indian Supreme Court has not issued its verdict on the Babri Masjid demolition case, which has been pending for over a decade, considering the possibility of bloodshed that the verdict might trigger, no matter which side wins.

In response to Mainali’s suggestions on delivering judgments based on consensus, Chief Justice Sharma maintained that the Nepali judiciary has followed a different model in which justices can differ in their decisions. “The judiciary has its own rules and regulations and we cannot follow the American model but our own, where justices can have diverse opinions,” said Sharma, adding that the judiciary would follow the model that the new constitution prescribes.

Conceding that the judiciary is functioning in a critical and sensitive transitional phase, Sharma said no other institution is as sensitive as the judiciary. Sharma said the judiciary has been successful in reforming and modernising its services significantly with the implementation of the Five-Year Strategic Plan.

Kathmandu Post