Kathmandu- Thousands of lawyers across Nepal returned to work Wednesday after ending a three-day strike.

Lawyers associated with Nepal Bar Association went on strike Sunday to protest a Supreme Court ban on its president, Bishwo Kant Mainali, from taking part in court proceedings for six months after he accused judges of corruption.

The strike had crippled court hearings across the country.

Representatives of the association and judges of the Supreme Court reached an agreement to lift the ban and end the strike.

"We have agreed to improve relations between the bar and the bench and withdraw the six-month ban against the bar president," a document detailing the agreement said.

The deal appeared to represent a major victory for the Bar Association, which in the past had accused judges of accepting bribes in return for favourable verdicts.

The agreement also allows a committee set up by the Bar Association to review controversial verdicts.

The association said it would now concentrate on its anti-corruption drive, which has been opposed by judges.

"The agreement has given new momentum to the Bar Association's anti-corruption drive," said Ram Kumar Shrestha, association spokesman.

The row between the bar and the bench erupted last week after Mainali alleged during a conference in Kathmandu that becoming a judge amounted to having an "open license for corruption."

In July, the Bar Association decided to analyze controversial judgements in what it said was an attempt to free the judiciary from corruption.

The move was heavily criticized by judges, including the chief justice, who described it as an attack on judicial independence.

There is a widespread public perception that the judges regularly receive bribe to bend their verdicts to favour criminal groups and influential people although the allegations have never been proven. (dpa)