Lawyers demanding the resignation of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana continued their sit-in protest on the Supreme Court premises on Friday as well.

Lawyers from across the country have been taking part in the protests for the past few weeks with Nepal Bar Association at the helm.

A large number of police personnel have been deployed at the court premises following Thursday’s clash between security personnel and the protesters.

At least seven lawyers including Nepal Bar Association chair Chandeshwor Shrestha were injured in the clash yesterday.

Later in the day, a full court of the Supreme Court endorsed a draft to revise the existing regulations and a directive to adopt a lottery system to assign cases to justices, marking an end to the prerogative enjoyed by the chief justice to prepare the cause list.

The lawyers have vowed not to let Rana enter the Supreme Court and have been trying to stop the chief justice from reaching his office since last Friday.

Rana, however, has been using alternate entrance to his office.

The protest in the Supreme Court first started on October 25 after justices refused to attend a full court meeting called by Rana. The justices accused Rana of not taking initiatives to bring reforms in the judiciary. The Supreme Court Bar Association and Nepal Bar Association then joined in. Hearings were affected, as judges boycotted benches.

However, at least five justices have already started hearing cases from Tuesday while several lawyers have said they will continue their protest until Rana’s resignation.