A contempt of court case has been filed in the Supreme Court against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel.
Senior Advocate Dinesh Tripathi filed the petition, alleging that PM Oli and Finance Minister Paudel committed contempt of court through the budget announced on May 29.
Although the petition was submitted a few days ago, it was registered only on Sunday. The hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday.
Supreme Court spokesperson Achyut Kuinkel confirmed the registration of the case against PM Oli and Finance Minister Paudel.
“It has been registered, but without mentioning names,” he said. “The hearing is set for June 10.”
On May 29, 2021, Finance Minister Paudel had presented the income and expenditure details for the fiscal year 2021-22 through an ordinance. Point no. 199 of the statement said: “Trade deficit will be reduced by exporting mine-based stones, gravel and sand based on environmental impact assessment. For the transportation of mine-based construction materials intended for export, I have arranged to exempt import duty for the construction of ropeway from the manufacturing unit to the point of export.”
Advocate Tripathi filed a writ petition against the implementation of point no. 199 of that budget. On April 20, 2022, the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court issued a mandamus order to halt the export of mineral products.
However, Advocate Tripathi claims that point no. 8 of the budget for the fiscal year 2025-26, presented on May 29, violates the Constitutional Bench’s order.
