Supreme Court denies interim order on House dissolution case, asks govt to furnish written response

KATHMANDU, June 9: Hearing on the writ petitions registered against the dissolution of the House of Representatives (HoR), the Constitutional Bench headed by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JBR has refused to issue an interim order as demanded by the petitioners. 

The reconstituted bench, on Wednesday, asked the defendants including Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, the Office of President and the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) to submit a written response by June 22. 

The bench will continue hearing the petition once it receives response from the defendants, according to Chief Justice Rana. 

As many as 26 writ petitions have been filed at the apex court demanding it reinstate the 275-member lower house of parliament, while four other petitions have asked the court to issue an order to appoint KP Sharma Oli as the prime minister as per the Article 76 (5) of the Constitution of Nepal. 

Legal practitioners including senior advocate Shambhu Thapa pleaded from the petitioner's side on Wednesday. 

It is to be noted that President Bidya Devi Bhandari, at the recommendation of KP Oli-led Cabinet, dissolved the House on May 22. It is the second time in five months that the lower house got dissolved. Earlier, the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench had restored the House, which was dissolved on December 20, 2020, on March 7.