KATHMANDU – The Supreme Court is to conduct hearing into all writs against the dissolution of the House of Representatives (HoR) with it in the Constitutional Bench. The single bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana ordered that the 19 writs that were brought for hearing in the regular bench be sent to the Constitutional court. With this order, hearing into all 30 writs against the HoR dissolution would take place in the Constitutional Bench on Friday.
One hundred and forty-six members of the dissolved HoR and 26 other writ petitioners are for the reinstatement of the House of Representatives. Advocates Dhanjeet Basnet, Krishna Bhandari, Rajaram Ghimire, among others, had registered separate writs, calling for re-appointment of Prime Minister Oli who has presented the basis that he commands majority support in the HoR.
The four writs calling for the re-appointment of Oli to the post of Prime Minister and for holding the mid-term election in the stipulated date itself argue that the President’s decision of May 21 stating that Oli could not be reappointed to the post of PM as solid basis was not seen that he would secure a vote of confidence from the House of Representatives in accordance with Article 76(5) of the Constitution of Nepal was against the Act Concerning Political Parties, 2073 BS.
These four writs also contend that the President’s decision saying PM Oli could not be reappointed to the post of Prime Minister was against the provision of the Act as well as against the letter and spirit of the Constitution. The writs have sought annulment of the President’s this decision and reappointment of CPN (UML) parliamentary party leader Oli to the post of Prime Minister.
The 146 outgoing MPs including Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (Maoist Centre) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, CPN(UML) then leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal’s chairman Upendra Yadav and Durga Poudel of the Rastriya Jana Morcha, have, however, in their writ, sought reinstatement of the HoR and appointing Deuba to the post of Prime Minister.
The writ petition filed by the lawmakers has demanded that NC leader Deuba becomes new PM in line with Article 76 (5) of the Constitution and the HoR be reinstated. Other demands include annulment of President’s decision of May 22 dissolving the HoR and fixing the date for the mid-term election for November 12 and 19 on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers should be termed unconstitutional and illegal.
