A special bench of justices Kalyan Shrestha, Girish Chandra Lal and Sushila Karki on December 20, 2012 had ordered that a PIL petitioner should first appeal to the authority or institution concerned to address the issue. [break]If the issue is not addressed, the petitioner should inform the authority in question about his intention to file a writ petition. Only then can the petitioner move the court with evidence that the issue was not addressed.
At a meeting with Officiating Chief Justice Damodar Prasad Sharma on Wednesday, NBA leadership stated that the apex court´s order has infringed the rights of citizens.
“The SC order regarding PIL has curtailed constitutional rights of the people. So, it must be rectified through judicial procedure” said NBA Vice-president Tikaram Bhattarai, who was present at the meeting with Sharma.
They also maintained that the apex court´s recent ruling would encourage dictatorship in the country. “The judiciary has turned more illiberal at a time when democracy is at peril,” Bhattarai told Sharma.
According to Bhattarai, they also urged the officiating chief justice to resume PIL registration process stating that even if SC implements the recent order, it should amend the existing regulations.
In response, Sharma assured them that he will take necessary steps in order to address their concerns. “The issue has already reached the bench,” Bhattarai quoted Sharma as saying. “If the issue is not addressed by the bench, I will settle it after holding consultations with NBA.”
Justices Shrestha, Lal and Karki had also ordered the SC administration not to file a PIL, if the petitioner fails to clarify how an issue in question is different from the one already sub-judice in the court.
SC had also stated that a single bench of justice would decide whether a petition should be registered. As of now, the SC administration decides whether a petition should be registered.
The apex court´s administration on Monday had declined to register a writ petition of Advocate Om Prakash Aryal who challenged the Constitutional Council (CC)´s recommendation to the president to appoint former chief secretary Lokman Singh Karki as the chief of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).
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