But for the past year, it has served as a witness protection chamber, where vulnerable victims and witnesses of crimes such as rape, abduction, human trafficking and domestic abuse can provide testimonies away from the glare of the defendants. According to district Judge Tek Narayan Kunwar, witnesses of around 60 cases used the facility last year. They would sit on the sofa inside the room and record their statements as the accused sat on a chair hidden behind a mobile hospital screen in the same room.

Now, in the next two weeks, the court is preparing to stream live video statements of the witnesses directly to the courtroom. The audio-visual technology has already been installed in the witness protection room and in the adjacent courtroom, where Kunwar holds hearings and trials.

“Now the accused and the vulnerable witnesses will not even have to share the same room,” said Kunwar, who plans to wire the technology to the remaining four courtrooms once the experiment proves successful in his courtroom.

Kunwar decided to convert the registrar’s office to the witness protection chamber after he noticed a group of primary schoolgirls, witnesses to a rape case, confused and scared as they approached the courtroom.

“Victims and witnesses have the right to justice. We do not want witnesses to refuse to provide testimonies or provide false ones because they are frightened by what the accused might do afterwards. By making witnesses feel comfortable and welcome in the court, the witness protection room serves to prevent such actions,” said Kunwar.

These initiatives at the Lalitpur District Court come despite lack of witness protection schemes at the policy level. Currently, some laws provide limited witness confidentiality and minimal witness support. For instance, the Government Cases Rules (1999) allows for a daily travel allowance for a witness so that the witness can travel to the court to provide statement. The allowance is equal to the daily allowance payable to a non-gazetted first-class civil servant. Similarly, the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act (2007) allows for confidentiality and police protection of witnesses and victims if deemed necessary.

Sensing the lack of adequate protection for witnesses, Mira Dhungana of Forum for Women, Law and Development filed a petition with the Supreme Court, demanding legislation on witness protection. In November 2009, the apex court ordered the government to draft laws ensuring the protection of victims and witnesses. In June 2011, two separate bills on the protection of victims and witnesses were released, but with the dissolution of the first Constituent Assembly in May 2012, the bills lapsed into oblivion. Spokesperson for the Ministry of Law, Tek Nath Dhungana said that work on the final drafts was under way. “The drafts are not yet ready. Once prepared, they will be sent to the Cabinet first,” said Dhungana.