Govt registers vacate against SC’s interim order in KNMC case

Published On: November 8, 2017 06:01 PM NPT By: Deepak Dahal

KATHMANDU, Nov 8: The government has registered vacate at Supreme Court (SC) against the apex court’s interim order on the writ of affiliation of Kathmandu National Medical College (KNMC).

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has registered the vacate through the Office of Attorney General on Tuesday demanding a scrap of the interim order of the SC on October 25, informed Dr Hari Lamsal, Joint Secretary and spokesperson of the Ministry.

The MoE has claimed that Tribhuvan University, that had granted the affiliation previously, has itself withdrew the decision and cited that there was one-sided hearing for which the ministry has demanded a scrap of the interim order.

Earlier, the Supreme Court last week issued a stay order against the decision of TU to scrap the affiliation granted to KNMC. A single bench of Justice Dambar Bahadur Shahi issued the order without calling the prosecutor for discussions over a writ petition filed in this connection by the owners of the medical college. The college owners filed the writ petition on October 17. In the hearings on the petition on October 27, the court ordered TU not to implement its decision to scrap the affiliation.

TU's Executive Council had issued affiliation to the college on July 27. However, TU had decided to scrap the affiliation following an agreement reached with Dr Govinda KC, who staged his 12th hunger strike to pressure the government to bring reforms in the medical sector. The TU meeting held on September 6 decided to scrap the affiliation issued on July 27.

What is Vacate?

Vacate is a government application demanding a scrap of the verdict issued by the court. Earlier, the government had tried to register vacate in June demanding a scrap of the SC’s verdict regarding the addition of the local levels. However, the SC did not accept vacate. According to 41 (3) of Supreme Court regulation, one can register vacate if the apex court issues interim order on one-sided hearing or if the next party could not take part in the hearing citing any reasons. Likewise, it is mentioned that the apex court can amend or scrap the order depending on the situation.