Following a row between the Judicial Council (JC) and Speaker Onsari Gharti over parliamentary hearing of the justice nominees, a meeting of the Regulation Committee of Parliament is scheduled for Wednesday to finalise the House regulations.

The rules are necessary for formation of the hearing committee. The JC recommendations were returned by Speaker Gharti saying that the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee is not in place and the JC was incomplete while picking the candidates. The committee has failed to finalise the rules due to a dispute over the size of the panel.

The opposition, comprising the Nepali Congress and some fringe parties, wants continuation of the 73-member hearing committee, while the CPN-UML-led ruling alliance is in favour of reducing its size as provisioned in the new constitution.

The new charter prescribes a 15-member Hearing Committee comprising members from both the House of Representatives and the National Assembly, which does not exist. The opposition argues that the 15-member committee cannot represent all the parties in Parliament.

“We cannot afford to delay the finalisation of the regulations anymore,” said CPN-UML lawmaker Rewati Raman Bhandari, who is a member of the committee. Citing the leadership change in the NC, he said there were high chances that the dispute would be resolved in consent.

“As the party heading the government, the UML should take a lead in resolving the issue,” said NC Chief Whip Chin Kaji Shrestha. “However, we can go for a vote if differences persist.”

According to sources, the new session of Parliament will convene in the last week of March—after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli returns from his China visit—to endorse the regulation and the House Committee.