Parliament seeks CA expiry verdict review

KATHMANDU, Dec 26: The parliament secretariat is preparing to apply for the review of the November 26 Supreme Court (SC) verdict that said the Constituent Assembly (CA) term would automatically expire in six months after its last extension on November 31.



Sources said the secretariat has completed all the preparations and will forward the application to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) most likely on Monday. “We have completed all the preparatory works in this regard. If everything goes as planned, we will forward it through the OAG to the apex court on Monday,” a source at parliament told Republica.[break]



An official said the secretariat is planning to forward it through the OAG though the parliament can register the application directly. “We decided to do it through OAG because the attorney general should plead on behalf of parliament as well,” said an official.



Speaker Subas Nembang also held consultations with various sides concerned on the issue. He held discussions with a group of lawyer-turned lawmakers -- Agni Kharel and Sapana Malla of CPN-UML, Radheshyam Adhikari of Nepali Congress, Khimlal Devkota of UCPN (Maoist) and Laxman Lal Karna of Sadbhavana Party -- on Sunday.



Saying that seeking review of the verdict is the only appropriate option left, the lawmakers suggested to the speaker to advance the procedures. Review of the verdict is possible as errors have been committed while issuing the latest verdict, said Kharel.



Officials said the review will be sought on the ground of past precedents, or if there is any room for reinterpretation of constitution, or if any serious legal error has been committed while issuing the verdict, among others.



Legal experts see the possibility of review on the ground of past precedents.



In one of the SC verdicts issued with regard to CA term extension, the apex court had said that there shouldn´t be any alternative other than the CA to write and promulgate the new constitution.



“The interim constitution says that it is the CA that has to accomplish the task of constitution writing and state restructuring while managing the existing transitional period and this is the right of the Nepali citizens,” read the SC verdict issued on November 4, 2010.



It has also argued that the move to dissolve the CA, under the pretext of delay in constitution writing, would invite anarchy and constitutional crisis.

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