A Constitutional bench will hear all petitions challenging Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli’s move to abruptly dissolve the Parliament, amid an intensified struggle between the two warring factions of the ruling Nepal Communist Party to wrest control of the party. Nepal’s Supreme Court has also issued a show-cause notice to Prime Minister Oli-led government, asking it to furnish a written clarification over its decision to dissolve Parliament. The Oli-led Cabinet now has 18 members including ministers and ministers of state.
The five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana will issue a verdict on the Prime Minister’s move to dissolve the 275-member House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament, My Republica newspaper reported. The five-member bench comprises justices Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha, Tej Bahadur KC, Anil Kumar Sinha, and Hari Krishna Karki.
On Wednesday, Chief Justice Rana’s single bench forwarded all writ petitions to the Constitutional bench. Altogether 13 writ petitions have been registered at the top court challenging the government”s decision to dissolve Parliament.
During the hearing on Wednesday, senior lawyers citing Constitutional provisions argued that Prime Minister Oli has no right to dissolve the House as long as there is a possibility of forming an alternative government.
