SC issue show cause notice for power outage

Kathmandu, Jan 27-The Supreme Court today issued show cause notices to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Water Resources and the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), demanding reasons for the cause of ongoing power outage across the country.Following a hearing today, a single bench of ad hoc judge Pawn Kumar Ojha issued the order while responding to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Bhupendra Prasad Pokhrel a few days ago challenging the NEA’s decision to impose 17 hours of load-shedding every week.

The bench has also put the case on its priority list for hearing. The bench, however, did not issue a stay order as demanded by the petitioner. The petitioner had sought an apex court order to nullify the Nepal Electricity Authority’s notices issued to inform about the 17-hour power outage.

The petitioner had also sought an SC order directing the authorities not to impose such decisions that violate the rights of the people.“The authorities do not have the right to cut off power once they have distributed electricity lines as per the Electricity Act, Nepal Electricity Authority Act and Regulation,” the petitioner calimed.