Supreme Court orders government not to enforce English embossed number plates

KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has issued an order to the government not to make English-language embossed number plates mandatory for vehicles.

A joint bench of Justices Kumar Regmi and Mahesh Sharma Paudel directed the authorities not to implement the notice issued by the Department of Transport Management on September 19, 2025.

The decision to make embossed number plates mandatory had been taken earlier under the leadership of then Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Devendra Dahal. Advocate Ram Bahadur Rawal had filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court challenging the decision.

Earlier, on December 13, 2019, the Supreme Court had ordered the government to ensure that both letters and numbers on embossed number plates be written in the Nepali language. Following the ruling, the Language Commission had also drawn the government’s attention to the need to use Devanagari script on embossed plates.

In its interim order issued on Sunday, the Supreme Court stated that, “From the perspective of convenience and balance, an interim order has been issued directing that the decision of the subject committee chaired by the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport and the notice of the Department of Transport Management not be implemented.”