Kathmandu, November 11
The Supreme Court has refused to issue an interim order barring the ruling Nepal Communist Party’s vice-chairman Bamdev Gautam.
The constitutional bench of the court led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Rana on Wednesday denied the order as demanded by the petitioners.
After President Bidya Devi Bhandari appointed Gautam, who had lost the 2017 parliamentary elections for a House of Representatives seat, as a National Assembly member, senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi and advocate Badri Raj Bhatta had filed separate petitions challenging the appointment.
They had demanded a separate order to bar him from joining any constitutional responsibility including that of a minister.
The advocate duo had 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 had demanded.
In the first hearing on the petitions, the court had issued an interim order barring Gautam from taking over any other constitutional responsibilities except the lawmaker. However, with the verdict today, Gautam can also join the cabinet and other positions as the lawmaker.
