Kathmandu, Feb. 13 -- The Supreme Court has finally started hearing the writ petitions challenging the appointment of more than four dozen chairpersons and members of various constitutional commissions.

The five-member constitutional bench of the top court began hearing the 15 petitions lodged four years back. "I and senior advocate Chandra Kant Gyawali presented arguments against the appointment from the plaintiff's side," said advocate Om Prakash Aryal, one of the petitioners. "We have been told that continuous hearing will start next month."

The bench, led by Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut, has justices Sapana Pradhan Malla, Manoj Kumar Sharma, Kumar Chudal and Nahakul Subedi. Justices Kumar Regmi and Hari Phuyal, whose benches...