CPN-UML leader and former minister Prabhu Sah has called for impeachment of the justices who issued an interim order instructing the government to not implement the ordinance about citizenship certificate issued by President Bidya Devi Bhandari.
Sah, whose appointment as minister was revoked by the Supreme Court (SC) pointing that a person who is not a federal lawmaker cannot be appointed minister more than once, has fulminated against the interim order claiming that the court order will make Nepali citizens refugees inside the country and foster lack of trust toward the state among the people.
"Stopping implementation of the ordinance in an irresponsible manner by making groundless predictions isn't just infringement of constitutional provision but is insult of the whole judiciary," Sah, who was expelled from the House by CPN (Maoist Center) after he quit the party to join UML, has posted on Facebook Friday. "It is necessary to impeach the justices involved in this as it invites crisis in the country by spreading anarchy."
The constitutional bench hearing petitions filed by senior advocate Borna Bahadur Karki and others on Thursday stated that there seems to be no relevance for immediate implementation of the ordinance issued by President Bhandari on May 23 and ordered the government to not implement the ordinance until the case is resolved.
The constitutional bench formed on the basis of seniority and including Chief Justice (CJ) Cholendra Shumsher Rana, and Justices Deepak Kumar Karki, Meera Khadka, Ishwore Khatiwada and Ananda Mohan Bhattarai also called issue of the ordinance a day after House dissolution uneasy.
It commented that allowing such practices as regular would infringe the constitutionally vested rights of the parliament and its jurisdiction, and would inappropriately affect use of the constitutional provisions kept in accordance to the doctrine of separation of powers.
The bench did not enter into the substance of the citizenship ordinance or comment on whether the provisions in the ordinance are constitutional or not, and ruled only about the constitutionality of issuing it a day after dissolving the House.
