KATHMANDU: A supplementary writ petition seeking the restoration of the House of Representatives, filed at the Supreme Court with the signatures of 68 lawmakers, including members of the Nepali Congress, has been scheduled for hearing today.
The petition, signed by 65 Nepali Congress lawmakers (including eight who had earlier filed a similar plea) and three former lawmakers from other parties, will be heard by the Constitutional Bench.
Former Attorney General Khama Bahadur Khati submitted the writ on Tuesday through authorized representatives. The petition bears the signatures of 57 Nepali Congress lawmakers, Goma Labh of the Janamat Party, Hasina Khatun of the Ashok Rai-led Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP), and independent lawmaker Yogendra Mandal.
The petition seeks an order to halt all activities related to the election of the House of Representatives. The supplementary plea argues that the appointment of Prime Minister Sushila Karki was unconstitutional and that any parliamentary election conducted by her government would therefore also be unlawful.
“The parliamentary elections proposed by an unconstitutionally appointed prime minister and her government would be invalid. Hence, an order should be issued to restrain and stop all election-related activities,” the petition states.
Earlier, on December 9, eight Nepali Congress lawmakers had filed a writ at the Supreme Court demanding the restoration of the House. The Constitutional Bench issued a show-cause order on December 17 in that case.
Similarly, 75 lawmakers from the CPN-UML had submitted a separate petition on November 26, also seeking the restoration of the House of Representatives. During the preliminary hearing of that writ, the court had sought written responses from the President and the Prime Minister, among others.
With the latest filing, the total number of former lawmakers from the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and other parties seeking the restoration of the House of Representatives has reached 143.
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