Protesters demand Nepal Chief Justice's resignation

Residents in Nepal capital Kathmandu staged a protest on Tuesday morning, during which they demanded the resignation of Supreme Court Chief Justice Gopal Parajuli.

The protest against the chief justice comes a day after the dramatic arrest of a senior orthopedic surgeon on the apex court's orders late on Monday.

Dr. Govinda KC who is popular for his frequent sit in protests on Monday only started another sit-in protest, demanding the resignation of Chief Justice Parajuli against his decision to reinstate Dr. Shashi Sharma as the Dean of the Institute of Medicine.

As soon as he announced the sit in protest against the decision the Supreme Court on Monday, the court directed the Home Ministry to arrest him and present him before the court. But the social activists and supporters of the Dr. KC along with some political leaders took part in the demonstration demanding resignation of Chief Justice.

Prakash Timilsina, a demonstrator in the Maitighar Mandala in Kathmandu told ANI,"He (Chief Justice) should resign because he has been making mistakes time and again. A lot of questions have been raised over his decisions. There has been a question mark over his SLC certificate to the untimely arrest of Dr. KC within two hours after the order is given without any warning or information, which is directly against the law. The person who is there to maintain and obey the law has acted against it."

Nepal which has the tradition of politically appointing the chief justice has been facing a series of problems over a period of time.

Manoj Adhikari, a demonstrator, said, "People who are on run and are well known are roaming freely and the government is not able to take them in custody, but activists such as Govinda KC are caught like criminals and kept in jail. This is an insult for all Nepali citizens."

The sit-in protest, which started on Monday, is the 14th in a series of protests initiated by Govinda KC, which he claims is against "Medical Mafias".

Dr. KC has accused the chief justice of indulging in corruption in his list of five demands.

Meanwhile, the apex court has reinstated Dr. Shashi Shrama as the Dean of IoM (Institute of Medicine) nearly four years after he was removed from the post.

--ANI