Writ Petition filed against certification of Citizenship Amendment Bill

Published On: June 2, 2023 10:30 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, June 2: A writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against President Ram Chandra Paudel's approval of the Citizenship Bill, 2079 BS, which was passed by the erstwhile Federal Parliament to amend the Citizenship Bill, 2063 BS, which was put on hold for months by former President Bidya Devi Bhandari.

Lawyers including advocate Surendra Bhandari submitted a writ petition in the Supreme Court on Thursday. Claiming that the President's move to validate the Citizenship Bill is unconstitutional, a writ petition has been filed demanding its repeal. However, the writ petition has not been registered yet. It is said that the court administration will take a decision on registration or bench only after studying the writ petition.

The Supreme Court had stopped the implementation of the Citizenship Ordinance brought by the then government led by KP Oli. The Citizenship Bill, which was passed and sent twice by the previous Federal Parliament, was shelved by the then President Bidya Devi Bhandari by going beyond the constitutional arrangements and limits.

President Paudel certified the bill on Wednesday after the government formed after the new mandate requested to certify the bill, which was kept in the President's Office. Controversy has arisen with the approval of the bill. The role of the President has also been questioned.

But President's Press Adviser Kiran Pokharel has claimed that the Constitutional President has verified the bill according to constitutional and parliamentary supremacy. Pokharel claims that the understanding that the Council of Ministers made a decision contrary to Article 113 of the Constitution is wrong. Pokharel said that there could be arguments for and against the content of the bill, since it was passed by the majority of the parliament, the parliament should take up its merits and demerits. Pokharel said, “Parliament itself is responsible for whether the content of the bill is bad or good, not the president,” He said. "This is also the basic spirit of our constitution."