KATHMANDU:  Undeterred by the continuous protests, Chief Justice Rana has assigned 10 benches – two single and eight joint benches for Supreme Court (SC) today.

According to the Supreme Court he has not assigned any benches for himself. All types of writ petitions including habeas corpus have been scheduled for hearing today.

Meanwhile, Nepal Bar Association is making preparations to step up agitations against Chief Justice Rana today after Rana showed no signs of resigning.

Chairman of Nepal Bar Chandeshwor Shrestha said they would make the protest more stringent sating that Rana issued a statement calling for talks rather than stepping down.

A central executive committee meeting has been called for 1 pm today to hold discussions to this effect, said Shrestha.

Nepal Bar is staging a sit-in at the entrance of the Supreme Court even today to pile pressure on Rana to step down.

Justices Bam Kumar Shrestha, Tej Bahadur KC, Manoj Kumar Sharma, Kumar Regmi and Kumar Chundal, who had earlier boycotted meetings with Nepal Bar, expressed have their readiness to attend benches if scheduled through lottery.