KATHMANDU, March 28: A writ petition has reached the Supreme Court (SC) challenging the decision of the government to announce a holiday in the name of ‘People’s War Day'. The petition has been awaiting registration at the apex court since Sunday, claiming that a holiday should not be granted on the Day. The petition was taken to the SC after the government published a notice in the national gazette declaring a public holiday on ‘People’s War Day’ to mark the launch of the Maoist armed insurgency in Nepal in February 1996. However, the petition has not been registered yet.
“There is this writ petition demanding the People’s War Day holiday be scrapped. It has not yet been registered. It is under study,” said Bimal Paudel, spokesperson for the SC. A group of victims of the armed conflict submitted the writ petition for registration. The government has decided to declare a public holiday in February ( Falgun 1st, according to the Nepali calendar) to mark the 'People’s War Day'.
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After the decision to announce a holiday on Falgun 1, the government was widely criticized. The victims of the decade-long armed conflict in Nepal that claimed the lives of around 17,000 people while many are still missing and others left mutilated, said that the day that marked the start of the armed insurgency should not be celebrated.
The writ petition will be registered after the approval of the apex court administration. If it is registered, the Supreme Court will decide whether to retain or repeal the public holiday on the 'People’s War Day’.
