HoR dissolution: Constitutional bench dissolved, next hearing on June 6

Kathmandu : The next hearing on the writ petition filed against the government’s decision to dissolve the House of Representatives will be held on June 6 under a new constitutional bench of the apex court.

This was announced by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana today after the ongoing hearing was obstructed due to objections raised over some members of the bench. The bench led by Chief Justice Rana included justices Dipak Kumar Karki, Dr Ananda Mohan Bhattarai, Tej Bahadur KC and Bam Kumar Shrestha.

Questions were raised over the presence of Justices KC and Shrestha, who had announced the verdict to nullify the unification of Nepal Communist Party, reinstating the CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre) parties, and not to review the decision respectively. Hearing over the case had begun last Friday.

The Constitutional bench had to be dissolved after two of its members justices Karki and Dr Bhattarai announced their disassociation from the bench, after Justices KC and Shrestha rejected calls for voluntary pull out.

Chief Justice Rana is now likely to constitute the new bench on the basis of seniority which includes Justices Karki, Meera Khadka, Hari Krishna Karki and Biswambhar Shrestha respectively. The next in seniority among the justices is Iswar Prasad Khatiwada following by Dr Bhattarai.