Supreme Court Begins Hearing on Nepali Congress Legitimacy Dispute

Kathmandu. The Supreme Court has commenced hearings on the writ petition regarding the legitimacy dispute within the Nepali Congress. The bench of Justices Saranga Subedi and Nripadhwaj Niraula is hearing the petition filed by Sher Bahadur Deuba and Purna Bahadur Khadka against the Election Commission's decision to recognize the working committee elected under Gagan Thapa's leadership by the special general convention.  

Today, legal representatives for the petitioner Sher Bahadur Deuba and government attorneys will present their arguments. The bench has allocated time for legal representatives of President Thapa and others to present their arguments tomorrow. 

Previously, on Chaitra 27, a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla and Justice Meghraj Pokharel had ordered that notice of the hearing be served to President Gagan Thapa and others elected through the special general convention.

Deuba and Khadka filed the writ on 4 Magh. During the preliminary hearing on 6 Magh, Supreme Court Justice Sunil Kumar Pokharel stated that certain questions raised in the writ filed by former President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka required resolution. 

The writ petition, filed by Shrawan Kumar Shrestha on behalf of Deuba and Khadka, demands the annulment of the Election Commission's decision and the dissolution of the newly elected working committee, labeling it illegal.