Kathmandu — Former lawmakers, including former Nepali Congress chief whip Shyam Ghimire, have sought a meeting with Chief Justice Prakashman Singh Raut, calling for continuous hearings on writ petitions seeking the restoration of the dissolved House of Representatives.
Speaking to , Ghimire said the petitioners are scheduled to meet the Chief Justice at 11 a.m. on Thursday to raise concerns over the prolonged delay in scheduling hearings on the parliament restoration cases.
“The Supreme Court has not fixed a hearing date on the writs seeking parliament restoration so far. We are going to meet the Chief Justice tomorrow to raise this concern,” Ghimire said.
He said the petitioners would urge the Chief Justice to move forward with continuous hearings on the matter.
“We will demand that continuous hearings be conducted so that the judiciary’s functioning is demonstrated,” he said. “Seventeen writ petitions have been filed. Can the court remain silent in such a situation?”
Seventeen Writ Petitions Filed, Hearing Date Yet to Be Fixed
A total of 17 writ petitions have been filed at the Supreme Court challenging the dissolution of the House of Representatives. Separate petitions have been submitted by lawmakers from the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML.
Earlier, on Poush 2, a Constitutional Bench led by Chief Justice Raut, and comprising senior-most Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla and Justices Hari Prasad Phuyal, Manoj Kumar Sharma, and Nahakul Subedi, issued show-cause notices to the respondents.
Following the order, all respondents have submitted written replies. Supplementary writ petitions were later filed, and the court ordered that all petitions be consolidated and heard together. However, no hearings have taken place since then.
According to Supreme Court spokesperson and co-registrar Arjun Prasad Koirala, only a general date (tareekh) of Magh 20 has been assigned in the case, and no decision has yet been made regarding when the substantive hearing will be held.
Petitioners Seek Halt to Elections, Challenge Government Formation and Parliament Dissolution
The petitioners have also sought an interim order to halt all election-related activities, arguing that any election conducted by Prime Minister Sushila Karki and her government would be unconstitutional due to the alleged illegality of her appointment.
The Office of the President at Shital Niwas, Prime Minister Karki, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Election Commission, the Speaker, and the House Secretariat have been named as respondents. The petitioners have also sought a mandamus order in the name of the President for government formation in accordance with Article 76 of the Constitution.
The writ petitions state that after former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned on Bhadra 24, the President was constitutionally required to initiate the process of forming a new government under Article 76. Instead, the petitioners argue that Prime Minister Karki was appointed in violation of Articles 76 and 132(2), as she is neither a member of the House of Representatives nor supported by any parliamentary party.
The petitioners have sought a writ of quo warranto challenging Karki’s appointment, demanded the annulment of the President’s decision of Bhadra 27 appointing her as prime minister along with her oath and subsequent appointments, and called for the nullification of the decision to dissolve the House of Representatives on Bhadra 27, seeking restoration of the House to its position as of Bhadra 24.
Previously, CPN-UML Chief Whip Mahesh Bartaula and Whip Sunita Baral had also filed separate writ petitions at the Supreme Court seeking the restoration of the House. The Supreme Court has already conducted preliminary hearings on those petitions and issued show-cause notices. Prior to that, more than a dozen writ petitions on the same issue had been filed.
