SC upholds EC’s decision to give authenticity of JSP to Yadav

Published On: August 17, 2021 10:55 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, August 17: The Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the Election Commission (EC) and given the official recognition of Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) to Upendra Yadav. Refusing to issue an interim order in the case of leader Mahanta Thakur, the apex court has recognized the decision of the election body to recognize the Upendra Yadav-led faction of JSP as the official party.

A joint bench of Justices Deepak Kumar Karki and Ananda Mohan Bhattarai on Monday ruled in favor of the Election Commission (EC) in a writ petition filed by the Mahanta Thakur-led faction of the JSP. Considering the vote expressed by the majority members of the party, the apex court stated that an interim order should be issued as the EC decided on the party's authenticity on July 26, 2021.

“There was no need to issue an interim order as no irreparable loss will be incurred to the petitioner after hearing the claims of both the parties regarding the authenticity,” the Supreme Court said in Monday's order. It also said that there was no need to issue an interim order taking into consideration the presence and identification of the officials and members of the Central Executive Committee as per the law.

Earlier, the apex court had sought reasons from the Election Commission. It directed the Election Commission to submit a written reply within 15 days and call both the parties for discussion on whether to issue an interim order. Thakur had filed a writ petition at the apex court seeking annulment of the Election Commission's order in the dispute over the JSP's authenticity. Thakur had filed a writ petition at the apex court after the Election Commission ordered the members of the executive committee to appear with the original copy of their identity cards.

JSP had two chairpersons- Yadav and Thakur. As Yadav secured a majority in the executive committee, the EC granted official status to the Yadav-led faction on the basis of that. The authenticity row of JSP has almost come to an end after the Supreme Court refused to issue an interim order in favor of Thakur.