Miscellaneous
SC quashes writ against govt decision to mobilise army
The Supreme Court on Friday quashed a writ against the government’s decision to mobilise army to riot affected districts including Kailali, Rautahat and Sarlahi.The Supreme Court on Friday quashed a writ against the government’s decision to mobilise army to riot affected districts including Kailali, Rautahat and Sarlahi.
A single bench of Chief Justice Kalyan Shrestha quashed the writ filed by advocates Roshan Kumar Jha and Yam Kumar Yonjan citing that the writ was immature.
“Things will come clear once detailed order comes out but the court today quashed the writ. There was no substantive evidence to prove that the decision of deploying army was unconstitutional,” said SC spokesperson Nahakul Subedi.
The bench said the writ was immature and failed to garner substantive evidences to establish that the decision to moblise army was unconstitutional. “The writ was more focused on news reports instead of establishing facts,” said Subedi.
On Monday, the government granted authority to some district administration offices of Tarai districts to moblise army to contain riot after eight police personnel including SSP Laxman Neupane and a child were killed in a deadly clash that occurred in Tikapur of Kailali.
Some political parties, rights activists and President Ram Baran Yadav raised objection to the decision to deploy army. However, the government and Nepal Army made it clear that the state soldiers were on the ground as an aid to civilian authority at the request of local administration.
In a press statement on Thursday, Directorate of Public Relations of the Army said that its movement in riot-affected zones in the Tarai should not be taken as its mobilisation.
Clarifying that the recommendation of the Security Committee and the Cabinet to mobilise the Army is approved by the President as per Articles 144 and 145 of the Interim Constitution, the NA said its present move was only to maintain social harmony and to protect people’s lives.
The Army is supporting the civilian authority in a few districts as per the provision of Clause 6 of the Local Administration Act-1971 which authorities the local authority to seek its help when any region is declared a riot-affected zone, the NA said.