A joint bench of Justices Deepak Kumar Karki and Meera Khadka will hear the writ petition filed by CPN-UML demanding implementation of expulsion of 14 House of Representatives (HoR) members by the party.
UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has lodged three separate petitions with the Supreme Court (SC) against the Election Commission and Speaker Agni Sapkota. The joint bench will hear arguments about whether to issue interim order on two of those petitions on Monday.
A bench of Chief Justice (CJ) Cholendra Shumsher Rana on September 7 had refused to issue interim order in the writ petition filed demanding revocation of registration of CPN (Unified Socialist) after splitting CPN-UML stating that there are no grounds and reasons to issue one.
The bench of CJ Rana had summoned both the sides for discussion on September 13 in the petition against Speaker Agni Sapkota for not implementing the party's decision to expel 14 House of Representatives (HoR) members. The bench had also summoned both the sides for discussion on September 13 on another petition against speaker of Lumbini for not implementing the action against two provincial assembly members of UML.
Speaker Sapkota had sent a letter to the Election Commission informing that UML has 121 HoR members and 33 National Assembly members despite the party writing to him about expulsion of 14 HoR members.
UML had expelled 14 HoR members of the Khanal-Nepal faction including Madhav Kumar Nepal on August 17 accusing them of trying to split the party. The faction subsequently applied for registration of a new party the next day with the Election Commission.
The lawmakers expelled from the House included Nepal, Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Mukunda Neupane, Ram Kumari Jhakri, Kalyani Khadka, Laxmi Kumari Chaudhary, Nira Devi Jairu, Pushpa Kumari Karna, Sarala Yadav, Kalila Khatun, Birodh Khatiwada, Krishna Lal Maharjan, Bhawani Khapung and Met Mani Chaudhary.
UML lawmakers then put pressure on Sapkota to implement the decision by issuing notice about their expulsion but to no avail even as Nepal and other expelled lawmakers registered a new party in accordance to the ordinance brought to make splitting of parties easier.
The act about political parties requires the speaker to implement expulsion of lawmakers by issuing notice about expulsion within 15 days. But Speaker Sapkota sat on the letter sent by UML about expulsion of 14 lawmakers including Madhav Kumar Nepal for 13 days and then decided to not implement the decision pointing that the Election Commission has already registered a new party under Nepal.
