Kathmandu, Aug 28 - Nepal's ongoing 'Hindi battle' received a new twist Friday with embattled Vice President Paramananda Jha, who had been ordered by the apex court to take afresh his oath of office in Nepali by Sunday or face dismissal, striking back.

Jha, a 65-year-old former judge himself who has refused to take his oath of office and secrecy in Nepali under duress, Friday challenged the verdict delivered by the chief justice and asked the attorney-general for a review.

The retaliation comes after mounting speculation that Jha would resign in order to avoid the humiliation of being forced to take the oath once more.

Jha's legal advisor Mithilesh Singh has asked for the controversial Supreme Court judgment to be reviewed by a full bench of five judges.

It means Nepal's Hindi war will now continue to smoulder.

The battle started last year when Nepal became a republic and Jha was elected its first vice-president on the support of Nepal's Hindi parties, which have their stronghold in the Terai plains along the India-Nepal border.

A Kathmandu lawyer, Balkrishna Neupane, filed a writ against the vice president, calling his oath unconstitutional since he took it in Hindi, a language close to the heart of the Terai residents but disliked by Nepal's hill community, who consider it to be solely an Indian language.

In a surprise move, Nepal's Supreme Court, that has been known to drag its feet on controversial disputes for years, delivered its verdict with lightning speed, upholding the lawyer's contention and ordering Jha to take the oath again in Nepali or face removal from his post.

Jha calls the verdict biased.