KATHMANDU, June 15: With the aim to reduce the case load of the Supreme Court, the government has brought a bill in parliament on Thursday to expand the jurisdiction of the Administrative Court (AC).

The bill has proposed assigning cases related to transfers, promotions and departmental actions concerning the government employees and public sector employees except for security agencies to the AC. Currently, the AC has limited jurisdiction of overseeing only the cases related to departmental actions against civil servants under the health and parliamentary services. 

The Supreme Court had long been asking the government to increase the jurisdiction of the Administrative Court, which was established in 1987.

The new bill has also proposed assigning cases of transfers, promotions and departmental actions related to teachers, corporation employees, provincial services and other public sector institutions where the government has more than 50 percent stake, to the AC.

“Once the bill is endorsed in its current form, the case load of the SC could be reduced by up to 40 percent and the apex court can focus on more important works including interpreting the constitution, laws and hearing other major cases,” said Chairman of the Administrative Court Kashi Raj Dahal. 

He also informed that anyone can challenge the Administrative Court’s decision in other regular courts within 35 days of the final verdict.

Under Secretary at the Ministry of Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Hum Prasad KC said that the bill also aims at improving the performance of the Supreme Court.  The new bill has also proposed setting up one three-member AC bench each in all seven provinces and such benches would be headed by a judge of the High Court concerned.

 
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