The Supreme Court has scrapped the legal provision that allowed the government to cover the medical expenses of former high-ranking officials for treatment abroad.
According to Joint Registrar Arjun Prasad Koirala, spokesperson for the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Bench on Monday canceled the provision that mandated the state to bear the costs of overseas medical treatment for former officials.
The ruling comes in response to a writ petition filed on May 3, 2023, by advocates Radhika Chamlagain, Swagat Nepal, and others against the Office of the President and other government bodies.
Section 12.1 of the Citizen Relief, Compensation, and Financial Assistance Procedures 2019 had authorized the government to fund the medical treatment of former officials. Under this provision, the state could spend up to Rs 1.5 million for former presidents, vice-presidents, prime ministers, speakers, and chief justices.
Similarly, the procedure set a limit of up to Rs 1 million for former deputy speakers, deputy prime ministers, ministers, ministers of state, assistant ministers, members of Parliament, and officials of constitutional bodies.
It also allowed for a maximum of Rs 700,000 for individuals who have made significant contributions to social and national life in fields such as education, art, literature, music, politics, public administration, law, justice, security, communication, and sports.
The Constitutional Bench – comprising Acting Chief Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla and Justices Kumar Regmi, Manoj Kumar Sharma, Sharanga Subedi, and Abdul Aziz Musalman – scrapped this provision.
"I would like to inform you that the Constitutional Bench today scrapped the provision in Section 12.1 of the Citizen Relief, Compensation, and Financial Assistance (Second Amendment) Procedure, which allowed the government to bear the costs of former officials' medical treatment abroad," said spokesperson Koirala.
