Smooth relations between judiciary, journalists stressed

Kathmandu, Dec 26:  The need of cooperation between the Judiciary and the Press has been stressed for the stability of democracy, protection of human rights and guarantee of independent judiciary.

Taking part in an interaction programme between the judiciary and the media persons organised by the Supreme Court in Lalitpur today, the participants said both bodies are the promoters of democracy and people's rights and they should never regard each other as competitors rather work in cooperation.

Senior most judge of the Supreme Court Kalyan Shrestha said judiciary and journalists should support and criticize each other on the basis of  mutural merits and demerits.

Budgetary constraint has had impact on endvours for making the justice delivery more effective and prompt, he said.

Likewise, Rastriya Samachar Samiti Chairman Kulchandra Wagle argued that people could be aware of the positive sides of judiciary if journalists be made sensitive towards court activities, underlining the need of removing a tardy process existing in the service delivery in judiciary.  He was in the line of giving continuity to such programmes to establish smooth relations between judiciary and press. 

Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) General Secretary Ujir Magar argued that a bill related to contempt of court that has been registered at the parliament could weaken the court itself.

Journalist Hari Bahadur Thapa said although judiciary and press have a smooth relation, leadership change in judiciary sometimes causes bitterness in the mutual relations.

Participants of the programme from various media said political dominance in the appointment of judges and their attachment to political parties has led to the creation of doubts over independent justice delivery.

            Public are rarely informed of action against judges convicted of corruption, most of court verdicts can not be understood easily and have the sense of dual interpretation,  Judicial  Council has become more rigid in information flow and there is no easy access to judicial information in the country, they complained. RSS