PIL filed angainst restrictions

Kathmandu, Jan 23- A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed at the Supreme Court (SC) on sunday seeking its intervention against the government’s prohibitory orders imposed with the intention of “curbing the right to freedom of assembly as well as the right to speech and expression.”

Advocate Shantosh Kumar Mahato filed the PIL at the SC seeking a stay order against the government crackdown on the political parties by withholding their rights to organise sit-in protests, peaceful rallies and assembly. The Supreme Court has scheduled the hearing of the case for Tuesday.

The Home Ministry and all three District Administration Offices in Kathmandu valley have been made the defendants of the writ petition. The petition has urged the SC to lift the government ban on political activities. The petitioner has claimed that the imposing of the propitiatory order on January 18 went against the fundamental rights guaranteed by the 1990 Constitution.

“Since the propitiatory order has violated the Article 12(2)(a)(b) and (c) of the Constitution, the apex court needs to intervene,” the petitioner said.

The three District Administration Offices in the valley had imposed the propitiatory order in the valley by activating Section 6(3)(a) of the Local Administration Act 2028 BS.

The petitioner has said that the government has the authority to impose such restrictions against a specific person, but it cannot impose such an order on all the people. The government has no authority to curb the rights of people, the petitioner claimed.