KATHMANDU, Aug 25: Even as the head of the judiciary is at the helm of the government, implementation status of verdicts issued by the Supreme Court (SC) on public interest litigation (PIL) is very poor.
According to the annual report prepared by the verdict implementation directorate of SC, only six percent of the directive orders on PIL were implemented by the government in 2012/13.
The apex court had issued 165 directive orders on PIL in the last fiscal year, while only 11 orders were implemented by the government.
Similarly, only 22 percent of mandamuses on PIL were implemented by the government. The government has implemented 28 mandamuses out of 122 such orders issued by the apex court during 2012/13. [break]
Also, 27 percent of certioraris on PIL were implemented by the government during 2012/13. SC had issued 29 certioraris on PIL, while the government implemented only eight orders.
Likewise, the government implemented only 18 percent of the verdicts related to writ petitions that demanded implementation of orders already issued by the court. The government implemented only 22 out of 119 verdicts related to writ petitions that had demanded implementation of orders issued by the court.
Asked about poor implementation of SC orders on PIL, head of the verdict implementation directorate at SC Mahendra Upadhyaya said it might be because of absence of parliament, which could pass bills necessary for implementation of some orders.
“SC is not the body to execute the verdicts,” said Upadhyaya, adding, “However, we repeatedly ask the government to implement the orders issued by the court.”
General Secretary of Nepal Bar Association (NBA) Sunil Pokhrel told Republica that the implementation status of SC orders has always been poor. “Even the present government has not prioritized implementation of SC orders,” Pokhrel said.
Constitutional expert Bhimarjun Acharya expressed surprise over the implementation status of verdicts on PIL. “There is no rule of law,” Acharya said. He also said that the non-implementation of court verdicts has given rise to impunity.
SC had issued a total of 181 verdicts, including 114 directive orders and 67 mandamuses, in 2011/12 but only 18 orders were implemented.
During 2010/11, 30.93 percent SC verdicts on PIL were implemented. The apex court had issued 181 orders while only 56 orders were implemented by the government. Similarly, the government had implemented 44.53 percent of the verdicts issued by SC during 2009/10. The apex court had issued a total of 128 orders on PIL, including 86 directive orders and 42 mandamuses, while 57 orders were implemented by the government.
During 2008/009, 34.16 percent SC verdicts on PIL were implemented. The government implemented 41 orders out of 120 orders issued by SC.
Likewise, the government had implemented 37.27 percent PIL verdicts during 2007/008. The apex court had issued 110 orders, including 75 directive orders and 35 mandamuses. Altogether 41 orders were implemented during that year.