Supreme Court Justice Recuses Self From Election Commission Case Due to Prior Order

Kathmandu. Supreme Court Justice Sharanga Subedi has refused to hear a writ petition in which the Election Commission of Nepal is also a respondent.

 She recused herself on Friday, stating that the certiorari petition filed by Kishori Sah Kamal was not fit to be heard in her bench.

The writ was scheduled for hearing on Friday in the joint bench of Justices Sharanga Subedi and Tek Prasad Dhungana. However, Justice Subedi ordered the case not to be heard on Friday, citing that she had already issued an interim order from her single bench the previous day in another related writ filed on behalf of the same petitioner (Kishori Sah Kamal).

In accordance with the principles of justice, she recused herself because she had already issued an interim order in a case of the same nature and interrelated to another, meaning she could not hear the second case. The order stated, 'Since the said petition and the present petition are interrelated, I could not hear the present petition.' The other justice on the joint bench, Justice Tek Prasad Dhungana, concurred with Justice Subedi's order.

The Supreme Court has ordered a new hearing date of Chaitra 1 to discuss whether to issue an interim order in this case or not.

As per the court's order, this case will be heard on Chaitra 1 in a bench other than Justice Subedi's. Sah filed the writ petition challenging the rejection of her candidacy in Dhanusha-1, making the Commission the respondent. Previously, on Thursday, the Supreme Court had ordered that Sah should not be blacklisted.