HoR Dissolution:  Deliberation on writ on behalf of PM to continue even today 

KATHMANDU: Deputy Attorney General Padma Prasad Pandey is delivering his arguments on the writ petition on behalf of the defendants on Tuesday.

According to the Supreme Court, two hours has been allocated for Deputy General Pandey.

In the deliberation from the government side which started from yesterday, Attorney General Ramesh Badal presented his arguments on the writ. In three hours and 15 minutes-long period, Badal claimed that a party’s whip is legally forceful when it comes to the government formation under Article 76 (5).

Similarly, Dadal further said that an independently elected lawmaker also can stake a claim for the Prime Minister but party’s whip will be applicable even to this condition when a lawmaker takes a vote of confidence.

During the deliberation, Badal accused Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba of forging signatures of CPN-UML lawmakers Ganesh Pahadi and Sarala Yadav in the course of staking a claim for the post of the Prime Ministers with lawmakers. There are eleven pleaders on behalf of the government.

Prime Minister KP Oli claimed for the post of the Prime Minister after Janata Samajwadi Party extended support to him pursuant to Article 76 (5) once he paved the way for the formation of a new government under Article 76 (3).

Both Oli and Deuba had staked a claim for the post of the Prime Minister under Article 76 (5). President Bidya Bhandari turned down both the claims and dissolved the HoR.

Following the dissolution of the HoR, NC President Deuba filed a writ petition with the signatures of 146 lawmakers at the Supreme Court.

The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court is hearing the writ petition, currently.

Thirty-six legal practitioners have deliberated on the writ almost for 12 hours on behalf of the plaintiffs. Currently, government attorneys are deliberating on the writs on behalf of the Prime Minister.

After delivering arguments on the writ petitions for 15 hours by the government side, the advocates on behalf of the writ petition will cross-question on the arguments delivered on the writ again.

The HoR was dissolved for the second time upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers on May 22. The lawmakers have demanded annulment of the HoR dissolution.