Judicial Committee conclave forms 11-member federation

The first national conference of the judicial committee concluded in Pokhara by forming a Judicial Committee Federation and issuing a 14-point Pokhara declaration.

The Federation formed under the convenorship of the Pokhara Metropolis (the event host) Deputy Mayor and judicial committee coordinator Manjudevi Gurung is expected to be a platform for exchanging experiences of judicial committees and contributing to the effective implementation of the Constitution and Acts.

The 11-member body comprises Indira Karki (Biratnagar Metropolis), Manju Bhandari Subedi (Dharan Sub-Metropolis), Bimala Kumari Sharma (Dhulikhel Municipality), Manju Adhikari Pyasi (Phalebas Municipality), Sharada Sharma Bisht (Kanchanpur Punarbas Municipality), Chandrakala Shahi (Simta Rural Municipality), Laxmi Khanal (Ribdikot Rural Municipality), Durga Prasad Ray (Sabaila Municipality), Leela Thapa Rana (Jaimini Municipality) and Rabindra Kumar Khati (Indrawati Rural Municipality) as its members.

The conference demanded amendments to relevant acts to ensure the effective presence of the judicial committee through the declaration. 

The gathering has sought an amendment to the Local Government Operation Act, 2017  for having a 'one-door system' for registering complaints and executing them through the judicial committee in a systematic way as duplicity, unnecessary interference and pressure have been felt due to the right to approving map and other judicial rights to the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer. Similarly, the practice of the registration of a complaint at the direct command of the Mayor or Chief Administrative Officer which is beyond the jurisdiction is also an issue.

Stating that the migrated people and those outside the districts are finding it hard to access the judicial committee, the conference has demanded for a provision that allows people to seek service from the judicial committee either from the local level where a defendant is residing or where a plaintiff belongs to.

Furthermore, the gathering urges the bodies concerned to bring the right to ‘management of people with physical disability and disabled’ stated in Section 8 of the Constitution under the jurisdiction of the judicial committee.

Speaking about challenges in the execution of committee decisions, the declaration has urged the government to address them.