SUPREME CURT BENCH ASKS FOR WRITTEN REPLY FROM PM BHATTARAI Kathmandu, 24 Feb.: A single bench of Justice Sushila Karki Sunday referred a proposal for the controversial appointment of an election government headed by Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi to a special bench. The bench asked defendants to furnish a written reply within 7 March to a writ filed by advocate Bharat Jangum who claimed the proposal was unconstitutional. Two previous hearings were put off citing time shortage. Office of the President, Office of the Prime Minister, Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and UCPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal are defendants. The development Sunday delays any likely breakthrough in the appointment on a Regmi government. nnnn ELDERLY ARRESTED IN SALYAN FOR RAPE Kathmandu, 24 Feb. Police have arrested an elderly person on the charge of raping a 12-year-old girl in Salyan district.The arrested is Chandra Bahadur Basnet, 62, of Dandagaun-5 in the district, RSS reports from Salyan.. Family members of the girl said that Basnet raped the girl luring her for noodles at a time when there were no family member at the house. The incident reportedly became known after the girl reported of stomach pain three days after the incident.She is presently undergoing treatment at a local hospital. The medical report of the girl has been sent to Kathmandu for the conformation whether or not she was raped.Investigation into the case is underway, said police. Nnnn ________________________________________ CP MAINALI SAYS PRACHANDA-LED GOVT. BETTER Kathmandu, 24 Feb.:: CPN-ML general secretary CP Mainali Sunday said forming a new government in the leadership of UCPN-Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' would be a better option than in the leadership of the Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi, The Rising Nepal reports from Butwal.. Mainali viewed the country could find outlet if UCPN-Maoist chairman became prime minister even the party had made many mistakes. He accused that the big political parties proved themselves failure accepting sitting chief justice led government concept. Speaking at a press meet here he claimed the country could not find way out by non-party person led government. "It could breed autocracy" he said. He claimed the chief justice issue will end within a few days. Mainali accused UCPN-Maoist of capture state power making the chief justice failure. He also said CJ led government could not hold election in May and consensus was not possible without ousting incumbent government. nnnn HELLO SARKAR RESOLVES CASES Kathmandu, 24 Feb.:: Hello Sarkar, a popular helpline established with a view to listen to the public complaints about the government service, has resolved around 75.35 per cent of the cases and complaints it received in the last three months, The Rising Nepal reports.. According to the Hello Sarkar unit, it had resolved 2033 cases out of the total of 2698 cases and complaints filed against the bureaucratic hassles, corruption, and other problems faced by the service seekers. Krishna Hari Baskota, secretary at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Minister, who also looks after the Hello Sarkar unit, said that the unit addressed 657 cases out of 957 cases received in the month of Magh (from mid-January to mid-February). Baskota said that the unit resolved 68.65 per cent cases in Magh. The unit received 20,432 cases so far. He said that the government has been working with the view to increase the clearance percentage to 75 per cent in line with its commitment made in it the Good Governance and Economic Reform Immediate Work Plan. Baskota said that it has resolved 56 cases directly from Hello Sarkar unit while it put 55 cases in high priority, 478 in priority and 371 in the list of general complaints and sent them to the concerned offices for clearance. The complaints registered at the unit range from complaints relating to social security allowance, delay in providing bank loan, telephone repairing, delay in getting education, issue related to passport holding and transformer replacement, among others nnnn