King must dissolve the government : Legal Experts

Kathmandu, February 15- Prominent legal expertson tuesday called on the King to immediately dissolve the government under his chairmanship taking in view the yesterday’s landmark Supreme Court verdict that disbanded the Royal Commission for Corruption Control instituted by the king following the royal takeover last year.

“Now the King should link the verdict to his morality and dissolved the royal government as the Supreme Court has said the monarch has no authority to claim the state authority,” senior advocate Radheshyam Adhikary said. “If the King wants to realise that there should be no more constitutional impasse, he should work as per the verdict,” Adhikary, a sitting member of Upper House of Parliament claimed.

He also added that the King should realise that he has no special authority and no one is above the Constitution and he should respect the verdict. “If he agrees to work under the Constitution, it will pave the way out for the political impasse as well,” he added.

Adhikary also said the verdict clearly stated that the Singh Durbar should exercise power, not the royal palace. “If the King is not ready to dissolve the government and reach out to political parties, that will be a disrespect of the Supreme Court,” he added.

Former Prime Minister Deuba’s lawyer Shreehari Aryal said the King should take fresh initiative by dismissing the government as the verdict does not allow the King to be a constructive monarch.

President of the Nepal Bar Association, Shambhu Thapa, asked the King to immediately act to reinstate the dissolved House of Representatives. “Now there is an urgent need to reinstate the Lower House to exercise the people’s sovereignty as wished by the Supreme Court verdict,” he said.

Former minister and senior advocate Basudev Dhungana said the King and the royalists who have been provoking the King should rethink. “This verdict has reminded the people that they are not slave but are a sovereign power,” he added.

Former Attorney General, Sarvagya Ratna Tuladhar, and senior advocate Sindhu Nath Pyakurel said the verdict has reassured the people that they are sovereign and the King cannot exercise any power beyond the Constitution.

Kunja Bihari Prasad Singh, the lawyer of the controversial royal commission however, said the verdict has curtailed the power of the King without giving a chance to explain on why the monarch needed to take the step.