Thursday, September 15, 2005

Home Ministry ignored SC stay order

Kathmandu, September 14-Defying a stay order, which was issued by the Supreme Court on September 7, the Police Headquarters and the Home Ministry began appointing police inspectors the very next day, a division bench of justices Khil Raj Regmi and Hari Jung Sijapati was told today.

Even as Hari Prasad Uprety, an advocate, urged the apex court to take contempt of court action against the ministry and the police headquarters for the defiance, the government joint attorney, Raj Narayan Pathak, said the ministry went ahead with the appointment process because it did not get the stay order on that day.
The authorities have started giving appointment letters to 236 inspectors. While 50 candidates were selected through open competition, 186 sub-inspectors were promoted through internal competition. The division bench, however, ruled there was no need to issue another stay order on the matter as the appointment process had already begun.

Challenging the selection process, two women candidates, Kripa Sharma and Kopila Chundal, had moved the apex court on September 7. Citing the Police Regulation 2049, which states that half of the appointments in the police force must be made through open competition and the rest through internal assessment, the petitioners had moved the Supreme Court.

Notwithstanding the legal provision, the authorities had stated in the vacancy announcement that 60 police inspectors will be appointed through an open competition and 186 sub-inspectors will be promoted to inspectors. The two candidates had passed written tests, but could not make it through the interview.

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