SC halts disciplinary action against Gandaki Province Assembly member Phanindra Devkota

KATHMANDU, June 24: The Supreme Court (SC) has issued an interim order halting the disciplinary action taken against Phanindra Devkota, a provincial lawmaker of Gandaki Province who was suspended for defying ‘party whip’. 

This decision comes in response to Devkota's petition challenging the disciplinary measures imposed by the CPN (Maoist Center)’s Gandaki Province parliamentary party.

Justice Prakashman Singh Raut's bench ruled in favor of Devkota, suspending the disciplinary action and issuing a show-cause order to the defendants.

This order requires the opposition to justify the action taken against Devkota. The court's decision temporarily protects Devkota from the disciplinary measures until further notice.

Earlier, after Devkota gave his vote of confidence to Nepali Congress (NC) Chief Minister Surendra Pandey in Gandaki Province, the Maoist Center, under whose election symbol Devkota had won the elections, recommended action against him, sending a letter to the Speaker of the province, Krishna Prasad Dhital.

Devkota was suspended after Speaker Dhital read out the action against him in the provincial assembly. However, the suspended provincial assembly member Devkota filed a petition at the Supreme Court on June 6, claiming that he was elected from Gorkha using only the election symbol of the Maoist Center but he was not an MP of the Maoist Center. 

Devkota had been maintaining that he is an MP of his party, the Nepal Samajwadi Party, even though he fought the elections on the election symbol of the Maoist Center.