Ratopati English
बैशाख २०७८

What parties, leaders and legal eagles say about House dissolution move

KATHMANDU, May 22: President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the lower house of parliament --- the House of Representatives --- as per Article 76 (7) and announced fresh parliamentary elections for November 12 and 19 upon the recommendation of Cabinet meeting held on Friday midnight. Earlier that,  President Bhandari rejected the claims staked for the new government formation as per Article 76 (5). Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli claimed to have the support of a majority of lawmakers in parliament. While PM Oli said that as many as 153 lawmakers --- 121 from the UML and 32 from the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) --- supported him for new government formation, Deuba also claimed to have support of 149 lawmakers --- 61 from NC, 49 from CPN (Maoist Center), 26 from ruling CPN-UML’s Madhav Nepal faction, 12 from Janata Samajbadi Party’s Upendra Yadav faction and an independent lawmaker. The claims from both the leaders were rejected citing the lack of strong bases for new government formation as per Article 76 (5).  Following the House dissolution move, opposition parties, leaders of various political parties and legal experts have issued statements and criticised the move as it was ‘against the spirit of the Constitution of Nepal.’ The main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) said that Saturday’s House dissolution move has drawn its serious attention. President Sher Bahadur Deuba accused President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister KP Oli of abusing the constitution as their private property. In a statement issued on Saturday, Deuba announced to wage political and legal battles against the move.  Chairman of the CPN (Maoist Center),  Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' said that the move to dissolve the House of Representatives is unconstitutional. He accused Presidenti Bhandari of dissolving the House of Representatives upon the recommendation of the government that triggered the conspiracy to sabotage the constitution. Shortly after the meeting of the leaders of the opposition alliance, Dahal also announced a political and legal fight against the move .  An alliance of five political parties including the NC, Maoist Center, Nepal-led factgion of ruling CPN-UML, Yadav-led faction of Janata Samajbadi Party and Rastriya Jana Morcha decided to strongly object to Saturday’s House dissolution move. A meeting of the alliance held on Saturday afternoon also announced political and legal fights against the move as it was ‘unconstitutional, undemocratic and regressive. Issuing a joint statement following the meeting, the parties condemned the dissolution of the HoR and blamed Presdient Bhndari for joining PM Oli to make a series of assaults on democracy and constitution.  UML senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal has accused Prime Minister KP Oli of tampering with the constitution. In a statement issued on Saturday, Nepal said that Oli's move to dissolve the House of Representatives was a severe insult to the people’s fights and struggles for  democracy, nationalism and their livelihood. Condemning the `undemocratic and unconstitutional move of Prime Minister Oli and President Bhandari , Nepal urged the pro-democracy leaders, activists and members of the party to unite and move forward against regression as democracy is in ‘crisis’. The Bibeksheel Sajha Party has condemned President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s move to dissolve the House of Representatives (HoR) on Friday and termed it as the crime jointed committed by the prime minister and president at a time the country is grappling with the pandemic of the coronavirus disease.  The party has also demanded a judicial review of the dissolution move and urged the political parties and civil society to unite against the ‘unconstitutional’ move.  Constitution expert and senior advocate Dr Chandra Kanta Gyawali said that it was a wrong call of President Bidya Devi Bhandari to ask the lawmakers to show the support of majority in parliament while staking claim for the formation of a new government as per Article 76 (5) of the Constitution of Nepal.  Talking to Ratopati hours after the President, at the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, dissolved the House of Representatives (HoR), Dr Gyawali said that Prime Minister’s KP Sharma Oli’s claim for new government formation on Friday, too, was also unconstitutional. “He [PM Oli] had once lost a trust vote from parliament on May 10. As he said that the government recommended to the president citing that it could not win a trust vote amid the contemporary political situation, he should not have staked a claim for a new government on Friday.”

पूर्ण विवरण

सम्बन्धित सामग्री

Nepal lived one long year in political instability since House dissolution. What next?

Onlinekhabar English मंसिर २०७८

UML Chairman Oli defends House dissolution moves

Ratopati English भाद्र २०७८

Hearing on House dissolution case concludes, verdict on July 12

KATHMANDU, July 5: The ongoing hearing on the House dissolution case at the Supreme Court (SC) has been over.  The hearing which resumed on June 23 and continued without an interruption finally concluded on the 11th day on Monday.  The Constitutional bench presided by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana will continue on July 12. CJ Rana shared that the verdict will be pronounced on the same day.  The bench comprises justices Dipak Kumar Karki, Mira Khadka, Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada and Dr Ananda Mohan Bhattarai along with CJ Rana.  Amicus curiae presented their opinion over the case following the reply debate by the legal practitioners of the writ petitioners including Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and 145 other members of the dissolved House.  Senior advocates Harihar Dahal, Badri Bahadur Karki, Krishna Prasad Bhandari and Shambhu Thapa replied on behalf of the plaintiffs on Monday.  The amicus curiae comprises four members --- Komal Prakash Ghimire, Prakash Bahadur KC, Raghav Lal Baidhya and Usha Malla Pathak. They were allotted a couple of hours.  Plaintiffs and defendants were allocated 15 hours each to prsent their arguments on the case. The 275-member House of Representatives (HoR) was dissolved on May 22.

Ratopati English जेष्ठ २०७८

Defendants to begin debate on House dissolution case from today

KATHMANDU, June 28: The defendants’ lawyers and government attorneys are scheduled to begin their debate on the House dissolution case which is being heard by the constitutional bench.  Government attorneys and legal practitioners representing the prime minister and the president  will try to defend the House dissolution move, which has been, however, challenged by 26 writ petitioners.  The lower house of parliament was dissolved on May 22 by President Bidya Devi Bhandari upon the recommendation of the KP Sharma Oli-led Cabinet.  Legal practitioners on behalf of the writ petitioners finished their debates on Sunday.  The five-member constitutional bench allocated 15 hours each to both the sides --- petitioners and defendants. Petitioners now have three hours left for a reply debate.  Once the debate by defendants is over, Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota’s legal practitioners will present their arguments in the allotted one hour  Plaintiffs will again present their reply which is then followed by the opinion to be presented by the amicus curiae. The bench comprising the justices Dipak Kumar Karki, Mira Khadka, Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada and Dr Aanad Mohan Bhattarai along with Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JBR will pass the final verdict once it receives amicus curiae’ s opinion on the case.

Ratopati English जेष्ठ २०७८

Hearing over House dissolution case to continue tomorrow

KATHMANDU, May 30: Hearing over the writ petitions, which were filed against the dissolution of the House of Representatives (HoR), at the Constitutional Bench was concluded for Sunday.  The five-member Bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher has been hearing the petitions since Friday.  Chief Justice Rana on Friday formed the Bench including the justices of the Supreme Court (SC) --- Dipak Kumar Karki, Dr Aanand Mohan Bhattarai, Tej Bahadur KC and Bam Kumar Shrestha--- under his leadership.  As many as 30 writ petitions were filed at the apex court terming President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s move to dissolve the House as unconstitutional.  Sunday’s hearing, however, did not enter into the issue of House dissolution. It witnessed a heated debate between the lawyers of both the plaintiffs and defendants over the issue of the formation of the Constitutional Bench. As petitioners raised questions over the formation of the Bench, Chief Justice Rana allotted one hour each to both the sides to debate on the issue.  President Bidya Devi Bhandari, upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, dissolved parliament on May 22 as per Article 76 (7) of the Constitution of Nepal.

Ratopati English बैशाख २०७८

"House dissolution was followed by procedural error"

KATHMANDU, May 28: Hearing over the writ petitions registered at the Supreme Court (SC) against the ‘unconstitutional’ dissolution of the House of Representatives is underway at the Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JBR-led five-member Constitutional Bench on Friday afternoon.  Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JBR formed a five-member Constitutional Bench under his leadership. The other four members of the Constitutional Bench include the justices Dipak Kumar Karki, Dr Aanand Mohan Bhattarai, Tej Bahadur KC and Bam Kumar Shrestha.  Petitioners and legal eagles, while pleading over the case, argued that the recent dissolution of the House had procedural error. Pleading against the dissolution, advocate Santosh Bhandari demanded the apex court reinstate the HoR as it was dissolved without completing the constitutional procedure of new government formation.  Another advocate, Sujan Nepal said that the prime minister elected as per Article 76 (3) can not skip Article 76 (4) and move on to Clause 5. “Article 76 (5) can be implemented only if the prime minister resigns or loses trust vote in parliament as per Clause 5,” he argued. Another petitioner, advocate Shailendra Prasad Ambedkar said that the prime minister, who has yet to win a vote from parliament, can not dissolve the House.  Similarly, Mohana Ansari and  Raj Kumar Suwal also pleaded against the House dissolution.  Of the 30 petitions registered at the Supreme Court (SC), 19 were heard at a single-bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JBR on Thursday. All of them have also been forwarded to the Constitutional Bench. Writ petitioners have demanded the SC issue an interim order to restore parliament. Friday’s bench will decide whether or not to issue the interim order as sought by the petitioners.  President Bidya Devi Bhandari, upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, dissolved parliament on May 22 as per Article 76 (7) of the Constitution of Nepal.

Ratopati English बैशाख २०७८

19 writs challenging House dissolution sent to Constitutional Bench

The Himalayan Times बैशाख २०७८

When will hearing on writ petitions against House dissolution kick off?

24 writ petitions registered at Supreme Court against House dissolution, 4 others in favor of PM Oli  KATHMANDU, May 25: As many as 24 writ petitions have been registered at the Supreme Court (SC) against the ‘unconstitutional’ dissolution of the House of Representatives (HoR).  Following the House dissolution on May 22 by President Bidya Devi Bhandari at the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, 146 outgoing lawmakers belonging to the opposition alliance reached the apex court in-person on Monday and registered a writ petition demanding House restoration and appointment of Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba. The petitioners claimed that the PM KP Oli-led government does not have a legitimacy to remain in power as the president had already called the MPs for new government formation.  According to the Supreme Court administration, as many as 28 writ petitions were filed at the court as of Monday including 24 against the House dissolution move. Four other petitions, however, were registered in favor of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.  While nine of the 28 writ petitions will be forwarded to the Constitutional Bench, 19 others will be settled through the general bench.  When will hearing begin? According to the SC administration, all the petitions will be entered into the computer record on Tuesday. There is public holiday on  Wednesday on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti. Hearing at the Constitution Bench does not take place on Thursday. Therefore, hearing on the nine writ petitions including the one by 146 lawmakers is likely to begin  on Friday.  Hearing at the general bench over the 19 writ petitions will begin Thursday onwards, according to a source at the SC.  President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved parliament at the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, as per the Article 76 (7) of the Constitution of Nepal. Earlier, Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba laid a claim for a new government with the support of 149 lawmakers as  the President had called upon the members of the lower house of parliament to stake their claim for the new government formation as per Article 76 (5). Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who had opted not to take a trust vote in parliament as per Article 76 (4), also staked a claim for a new government. President Bhandari, however, rejected both the claims.

Ratopati English बैशाख २०७८

149 lawmakers to knock court’s door against House dissolution

KATHMANDU, May 22:  An alliance of opposition parties are preparing to knock at the door of the Supreme Court (SC) against President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli against the dissolution of the House of Representatives (HoR).  As many as 149 lawmakers, who extended their support to the President of the main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) on Friday to form a new government as per Article 76 (5) of the constitution, are preparing to file a writ petition against the House dissolution move.  A meeting of the leaders of the alliance of five parties --- Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center), CPN UML’s Nepal faction, JSP’s Yadav faction and Rastriya Jana Morcha --- decided to take both the political and legal actions against the move.  President Bhandari announced the mid-term polls for November 12 and 19 after dissolving the lower house of parliament at the recommendation of the Council of Ministers.

Ratopati English बैशाख २०७८

House dissolution is unconstitutional: Speaker Sapkota

KATHMANDU, May 22: Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota has termed the move of dissolution of the House of Representatives (HoR) by the President, upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister, as unconstitutional and undemocratic.  Issuing a statement on Saturday, Speaker Sapkota said that the dissolution of the House of Representatives contradicted the verdict of the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court on February 23 earlier this year. “It is to be noted that the verdict of the Supreme Court stated that it would go against the letter and spirit of the constitution if the House is dissolved as long as formation of a new government is possible through alternative means,” he said.  He also urged all the political parties, parliamentarians, civil society members, constitution experts, legal eagles, intellectuals, media fraternity and all the stakeholders to unite for the sake of national interest, constitution supremacy and protection of  democracy in the country.

Ratopati English बैशाख २०७८

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