Kathmandu, October 14
The next hearing of two writ petitions filed against the appointment of ruling Nepal Communist Party’s vice-chairman Bamdev Gautam as a National Assembly member is highly likely to be held after the Dashain festival only.
The five-member constitutional bench in the Supreme Court is looking into the case. The court schedules hearing of the cases under the constitutional bench only on Wednesdays and Fridays. The court did not schedule any hearing under the bench today, and it is unlikely to hear any case on Friday also as some justices and officials in the court are in isolation due to the coronavirus infection, according to a court source.
The court will be closed for two weeks after Friday to observe the Dashain festival.
In their separate petitions, senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi and advocate Badri Raj Bhatta have claimed Gautam’s appointment as a lawmaker has breached the constitution, and it is likely to cause serious damage to the constitutional system. Therefore, he should be barred from working as a lawmaker until the final verdict is made on the case, they demanded.
In the first hearing on the petitions, the court has issued an interim order barring Gautam from taking over any other constitutional responsibilities except the lawmaker.
