They said the verdict, if not corrected, will set a wrong precedent and invite conflict between the legislature and the judiciary. [break]
“Such verdicts used to come from the Narayanhiti Palace in the past. The court seems to be following in the footsteps of the Palace. This will lead to a disaster,” said UCPN (M) lawmaker Amik Sherchan said.
He argued that the verdict has breached the principle of check and balance and violated the constitution, adding that the extension of the term of the CA falls under the jurisdiction of an elected body.
“The elected body has the authority to decide when and how to draft the constitution,” said Sherchan, adding, “So, who gave the right to the apex court to pass such a verdict?”
“We should not take this verdict lightly. If such tendency of the judiciary is not checked, it will invite regression,” he added.
Taking a strong exception to the recent verdict, CPN-UML lawmaker Dhirendra Bahadur Shresth also accused the apex court of acting in an autocratic way. “We want supremacy of the constitution, not of judges,” he said.
Another CPN-UML lawmaker Rabindra Prasad Adhikari accused the judiciary of crossing its limitations by passing a verdict on CA term extension.
Sarbadev Prasad Ojha, a lawmaker of Madhesi People’s Right (Democratic), accused the apex court of misinterpreting the constitution while passing the verdict.
Similarly, Iqbal Ahamad Shah, lawmaker of Madhesi People’s Right (Republican), Chandra Dev Joshi, lawmaker of CPN (United), and a few other lawmakers from smaller parties also voiced their objection against the SC’s verdict.
In a separate context, Nepali Congress lawmaker Kamala Pant, speaking in the parliament, demanded accountability on the part of the government over the misuse of state coffers while paying allowance to the PLA who have already deserted the cantonments. It came to light during the ongoing categorization process that around 3,000 combatants had already left the cantonments though the government record showed that allowances were released even in the name of the deserters.
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