SC to govt: Why can’t Prez call CA meeting?

KATHMANDU, JAN 01 -
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the government to explain as to why the President cannot call the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly (CA).

Responding to a petition filed by Advocate Biswas Acharya, the single bench of Justice Tarka Raj Bhatta has also asked both petitioner and defendants to appear before the court to discuss whether a stay order is required concerning executive head calling for a CA meet as demanded by the petitioner.

Defendants in the writ include the Prime Minister's Office, Council of Ministers and Minister for Information and Communication Madhav Poudel.

Advocate Acharya moved the court on December 27 demanding an order that the President call the first meeting of the CA. He maintains that it is an international practice that the head of state calls meeting of the CA and session of the Parliament.

The court order comes at a time when both government and Office of the President along with some political parties, including the Nepali Congress, are differently interpreting the constitutional provision on calling the first meeting of the Assembly.

The officials and aides to President Ram Baran Yadav have been citing international practice whereby the head of state calls and prorogues the parliament session and the CA meet. But a Cabinet minister maintains that as per the constitution, it is the executive head who is supposed to call the meeting.

Citing the constitutional provision that the President on the recommendation of the prime minister shall call session of the parliament from time to time, petitioner Acharya maintains that the spirit of the provision in Article 51(1) of the Interim Constitution is that the head of state would call and end the meeting of the CA. Article 69 (1) of the constitution, however, states that the meeting of the CA would be called by the prime minister within 21 days of publication of the final results of the CA election.

The petitioner argues that allowing the executive head not the head of state would set a “wrong precedent”. Acharya also maintains that it is no longer relevant to cite the example of 2008 when Girija Prasad Koirala held both political offices.

The first CA was called by then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala who was also serving as the head of state as the powers of then king Gyanendra Shah were suspended following the popular uprising in 2006.

The petition demands that court issue order nullifying any decision to call the CA meeting by the executive head until the final hearing of the petition.

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