Kathmandu, October 7
The Supreme Court has ordered the Gandaki provincial government not to take decisions or carry out activities of long-term significance until the final resolution of a writ petition challenging the government’s failure to seek a vote of confidence.
A division bench of Justice Shreekanta Paudel issued the interim order on Wednesday while hearing a writ petition filed by Lil Bahadur Thapa against the Office of the Gandaki Province Chief and other authorities.
The court directed the Gandaki chief minister not to make decisions or undertake activities concerning matters of long-term significance until the petition is finally settled.
The order comes after the petitioner argued that the constitutional requirement under Article 188(2) for a chief minister to seek a vote of confidence within 30 days had not been implemented.
The petitioner has also submitted a letter showing that the CPN-UML had withdrawn from the Gandaki provincial government and informed the province chief of the decision on August 26.
The Supreme Court said the petition raised a question over the implementation of the constitutional provision requiring the chief minister to seek a vote of confidence within 30 days. Taking into account the sensitivity of the balance of convenience, the court issued the interim order restricting long-term decisions and actions until the writ is resolved.
The court has ordered the defendants to submit written responses, along with the grounds, reasons and evidence showing why the interim order should not be continued, by October 28.
The written response from the province chief is to be submitted through the Office of the Attorney General, while responses from the other defendants are to be filed through the Office of the Chief Attorney of Gandaki Province.
Given the sensitivity of the matter, the court has accorded the case priority and ordered that it be presented during the week following October 28.
The Supreme Court has not yet made a final determination on whether the Gandaki chief minister was constitutionally required to seek a vote of confidence. That question will be decided after considering the written responses and hearing the parties at the next stage of the proceedings.
Senior advocates Ramesh Badal, Raman Kumar Shrestha, Tikaram Bhattarai, Shreekanta Baral and Ram Narayan Bidari represented the petitioner.
