KATHMANDU, Aug 12: The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Parmananda Jha, who has been at the center of controversy since the apex court nullified his oath in Hindi for the post of vice president, is required to take his oath of office and secrecy in Nepali. [break]
The court´s ruling passed by a five-member full bench comes at a time when Jha has been refusing to take a fresh oath following nullification by the Supreme Court of his oath taken in Hindi on July 23, 2008.
“It is deemed necessary for the vice president to take the oath as provisioned in the law before he assumes office and if he wants to continue in office, as has already been clarified by this court´s order on July 24,” the bench said.
This means Jha should take his oath of office and secrecy as provisioned in Article 36 I (2), which says that the vice president should take the oath in Nepali before he assumes office.
Jha, however, refused to comment on Wednesday´s court order. “I have not read the order yet,” Jha told myrepublica.com.
But Jha´s lawyer Mithilesh Kumar Singh told myrepublica.com said that Jha would resign if he is either compelled to take his oath in Nepali or prevented by the court from assuming his post. But he is ready to retake his oath in Hindi, Singh said.
The court´s fresh order in the oath controversy was in response to public interest litigation that sought the court´s order to prevent Jha from assuming office until he takes the oath in Nepali in view of the nullification of his oath in Nepali.
Jha´s oath has become a political issue more than a constitutional one as the Madhesi parties, especially Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF), have supported his refusal to take oath in Nepali.
Though the petitioners sought a stay order from the court to prevent Jha from going to office, the court said it would decide on their demand when the government and the office of the president furnish replies within seven days on progress in administering a fresh oath to Jha. The respondants are yet to inform the court about such progress.
The bench comprising Justices Top Bahadur Magar, Ram Kumar Prasad Shah, Kalyan Shrestha, Prem Sharma and Bharat Raj Upreti said it would conduct a final hearing on August 23.
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