Bad precedent

It is unfortunate that Parmananda Jha, a former justice himself, has set a bad and dangerous precedent by openly defying Supreme Court order. He chose to skip his swearing-in ceremony on Sunday, just a few hours before the scheduled time. By doing so, he also went back on his assurance to the prime minister, a day ago, that he would honor the court order and take the oath. No one, absolutely no one, has the authority to defy the court under any pretext. Jha needs no explaining on this.



On August 23, the court had given him until Sunday to retake oath of office and secrecy in Nepali to continue to occupy the post. But instead of honoring the court order, Jha questioned it and showered a litany of charges on the court during a press conference on Sunday.



We have said in the past that the Supreme Court should have avoided the oath-taking issue given the sensitivity surrounding language rights and the current national context. Republica continues to stand for linguistic rights, and the right to conduct official formalities such as oath-taking in any of the national languages, including Hindi. The parliament should discuss and pass the seventh amendment bill to the Interim Constitution guaranteeing such rights. The bill was registered after a political understanding forged among parties, including Madhes-based ones, to defuse tensions over the oath row.



Jha had made his point by taking oath in Hindi last year. He should have held on to the opportunity provided by the cabinet after it registered the amendment bill on August 17. But he chose to chart a dangerous course instead. What has not helped is his shifting stance on the issue of taking oath in Nepali. It is distasteful to observe he has displayed a total disregard of the consequences of his action.



The Madhes-based parties have not fared better either. They have made an unnecessary ruckus out of the oath-taking issue when linguistic right is in the process of being ensured. Protests, bandas and clashes were orchestrated in the Tarai on Saturday and Sunday purportedly to pressurize Jha not to honor the Supreme Court order. By goading the vice president to defy the court, they too have set a bad precedent. The situation in the Tarai is showing signs of going out of control. These parties will have to shoulder the responsibility for any untoward situation. We want to ask the Madhes-based parties a question: Do you prefer a Nepal with linguistic rights and a humiliated judiciary, or a Nepal with linguistic rights and a strong judiciary able to protect it?

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Setting a bad precedent