KATHMANDU: Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana has asked the government attorneys who is the authority to decide whether the Prime Minister has got the vote of confidence or not: Parliament or President?

During Tuesday’s hearing on the debate taking place on the writ petitions related to the dissolution of the House of Representatives, Chief Justice Rana asked Deputy Attorney General Padam Prasad Pandey whether the Prime Minister could skip the parliament, the institution to discuss the vote of confidence.

“Shouldn’t the PM have gone to the parliament to show he could garner or not garner vote of confidence?” he asked Pandey, adding, “Is it natural for the PM to skip the parliament in this regard?”

Earlier, Pandey had argued that the Prime Minister had gone to President thinking he could not garner the vote of confidence from the parliament, so, it was better for him not to try to remain the Prime Minister as per Article 76 (3).

Replying to Chief Justice Rana, Pandey argued that as the Prime Minister surrendered saying he could not get vote of confidence from the parliament, there was no need to go the parliament not to get vote of confidence.