The Parliamentary Regulation Committee has decided to resolve the disputed issues over the new regulation of Parliament within four days. If the dispute is not resolved in a couple of days it will be forwarded to the senior leadership to finalise the regulation within March 20.

A committee meeting on Wednesday agreed to expedite the efforts to finalise the 

regulations from Thursday after cross-party lawmakers mounted pressure on its Chairman Radhesyam Adhikari to take a decision to this effect. 

The PRC has yet to draft the regulations despite being extended its deadline four times by Parliament owing to the dispute over the size of the Parliamentary Hearing Committee.

The main opposition Nepali Congress and other fringe parties are in favour of giving continuity to the 73-member hearing committee, while the CPN-UML-led ruling alliance is pressing for reducing its size as provisioned in the new constitution. 

The new charter envisages a 15-member parliamentary hearing committee 

comprising members from both the House of Representatives and National Assembly. 

The opposition parties are of the view that the 15-member committee cannot have representation of all the parties in the Legislature-Parliament. Currently, there are 31 parties including two independent lawmakers.

The ruling parties, however, maintain that as Article 296 has authorised current Parliament to conduct all the activities under the prerogative of the Federal Legislature until the elections are conducted, the Hearing Committee must follow the constitutional provision. 

“Pressure is building on the committee to finalise the regulation soon after the current dispute over the hearing of justices recommended by Judicial Council,” said 

CPN-UML lawmaker Rewati Ram Bhandari. 

“We are working to take a decision by March 20,” he added.

Dispute has surfaced between judiciary and Speaker Onshari Gharti after she returned the names nominated by the council for Supreme Court justices, arguing that there was no parliamentary hearing committee in place. The regulation has to be finalised to pave the way for the formation of the committee.

The Article 292 of the Constitution of Nepal makes a parliamentary hearing  mandatory before the appointments of chief justice, justices of the Supreme Court, JC members, heads or officials of constitutional bodies and ambassadors.