Dismayed with the provisions in the draft constitution relating to the judiciary, the court officials inside Kathmandu Valley halted their works for an hour in protest on Wednesday. The court officials have demanded that the provisions set by the Interim Constitution-2007 should be retained in the new constitution as well. The Interim Constitution had the provision of recruiting district attorney from among the judiciary officials.

The draft of the new constitution, however, has proposed a provision of appointing 60 per cent of the district attorneys from among the lawyers and the remaining 40 per cent from among the judicial officials. Baburam Dahal, an official at Lalitpur District Court, said the officials staged an hour-long pen-down strike demanding continuity of the Interim Constitution’s provisions in the new constitution. The judicial officials have warned of strong protest, including the indefinite boycott of the entire court procedures if their demands are not addressed.