The writ petition registered in the Supreme Court (SC) for revocation of appropriation of budget for federal lawmakers for development of electoral constituencies has not been heard in lack of convening of constitutional bench.
Advocate Paras Mani Bhattarai had moved the petition demanding the act of allocating Rs 60 million to the lawmakers in the 213
th point of the budget for fiscal year 2076/77 be revoked by a certiorari order as it is against Articles 1, 4, 56 and 57 of the Constitution of Nepal.
The constitutional bench of the SC should hear the petition. But the constitutional bench called for Friday was not convened.
The five-strong constitutional bench comprises senior most justices including the chief justice. "The constitutional bench may not have been convened in absence of one of the five justices," SC Spokesperson Bhadrakali Pokharel told Setopati. "All five senior most justices must be present for convening the constitutional bench."
The petition was registered by the SC on Sunday on order of the bench of Justice Dambar Bahadur Shahi.
Bhattarai had moved the petition before the presentation of the budget on May 29 stating that the government is allocating budget to be spent by lawmakers in the name of Constituency Infrastructure Development Program. The petition had demanded revocation of Rs 40 million allocated to each constituency last year and called for a ban on allocation in this year's budget.
But Registrar Lal Bahadur Kunwar refused to register the petition on May 27. Justice Shahi ordered registration of the same on May 30 after Bhattarai appealed against Kunwar's decision.
"The petitioner's argument that the decision to give Rs 40 million to the federal lawmakers is unconstitutional on the grounds of Articles 1, 4, 56 and 57 of the Constitution needs to be decided through a bench," stated Justice Shahi's order to register the petition issued a day after Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada allocated Rs 60 million for each constituency.
Bhattarai's petition also argues that allocation of development budget to the federal lawmakers encroaches on the functioning and rights of the local, provincial and federal governments.
