Janak Pandey Proposes Understandable Court Verdicts

Kathmandu. Janak Pandey, proposed for the post of Supreme Court judge, has stated that court verdicts should be easily understandable by the general public. He said that after the verdict, people should not have to go to lawyers and pay extra fees to understand its meaning. Presenting his work plan at a meeting of the Parliamentary Hearing Committee held in Singhdarbar on Saturday, Pandey said that clarity, rationality, and legal purity should be prioritized in justice delivery. He emphasized that it is not enough to just deliver justice; impartial hearings must be ensured so that justice is seen to be delivered. He stated that the views of both parties to the case should be heard, the core facts of the dispute identified, and decisions made after impartially analyzing the evidence and legal provisions. He said that even parties whose verdicts are not in their favor should be clearly explained why such a decision was made. He believes that if it can be explained which facts, evidence, and legal basis led to the decision not being in their favor, then trust in justice will increase. Pandey said that to maintain public trust in the judicial system, the quality of verdict writing and the use of judicial precedents also need improvement. He stated that judges should clearly mention established precedents and legal bases when making verdicts. He mentioned that the workload of cases in the Supreme Court and the backlog of old cases are also major challenges for justice delivery. Informing that as of June 11, 2083 BS, there were 26,997 cases pending in the Supreme Court, he said that among them, 1,255 cases were older than five years and 2,949 cases were older than two years. Stating that delivering justice late is equivalent to not delivering justice at all, he said that cases should be prioritized and disposed of based on their nature, complexity, age, and legal significance. He suggested that the case management system (DCM) should be effectively implemented in the Supreme Court for case management and that lawyers' arguments should be managed within a time limit. He also emphasized the need to guarantee constitutional and fundamental rights to the deprived sections of society. He mentioned that currently, those with access and the upper class are making more use of constitutional rights, and judicial access should be expanded to the exploited, victims, and communities who are unaware of their rights.