Kathmandu, Nov. 12 -- The crisis in the judiciary has deepened further. The Supreme Court has not heard a single case since October 25 except for some habeas corpus petitions. While Nepal Bar Association, the umbrella organisation of lawyers across the country, has upped the ante-it has decided not to participate in even habeas corpus hearings-justices are under moral pressure. The 19 Supreme Court justices who have been demanding Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana's resignation are well aware that they cannot boycott the benches for long. They want political parties to take up the issue and make efforts to remove Rana from office.

Political parties, however, have maintained that a solution to the crisis in the judiciary must be found...