KATHMANDU, Jan 24: A petition has been filed at the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court seeking the examination of authenticity of the notice published in Nepal Gazette regarding the dissolution of House of Representatives (HoR).
Leaders close to the Dahal-Nepal faction of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) — Dev Prasad Gurung, Krishna Bhakta Pokharel, Shashi Shrestha, Ram Kumari Jhakri — knocked on the door of the apex court on Sunday.
Senior advocate Raman Kumar Shrestha who raised questions about the legitimacy of the notice produced in the gazette, was interrupted by Chief Justice (CJ) Cholendra Shumsher JBR citing that a petition regarding the issue had already been filed at the Constitutional Bench. Shrestha claimed that the notice was published and updated on the website of the Nepal Gazette on a back date.
Copy of Nepal Gazette produced at Constitutional Bench
Attorney General Agni Prasad Kharel, however, defended the government and said that all the proceedings were made as per the law.
The five-member Constitutional Bench led by CJ Rana has been hearing the pleadings on the writ petitions filed at the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the dissolution of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the federal parliament.
Advocates duo Om Prakash Aryal and Tika Ram Bhattarai were the first to raise questions about the notice published in the Nepal Gazette. During the hearing at the Constitutional Bench earlier on January 21, they said that they were not informed about the notice regarding the dissolution published in the gazette though it was already endorsed by President Bidya Devi Bhandari on December 5 last year at the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JBR, on the same day, asked the government to produce the House dissolution notice published in the gazette.
Attorney General Kharel, on the other day [January 22] presented a copy of the Nepal Gazette containing the notice published regarding the dissolution of the House of Representatives to the Constitutional Bench.
