Ex-army men stage protest in front of Supreme Court

Ex-servicemen of the Nepal Army staged a protest in front the Supreme Court on Monday, demanding speedy hearing on their case filed four years ago.

Dozens of ex-army men who gathered in front of the apex court blocked the main gate of the court for nearly two hours, complaining that the court had been delaying hearing on their writ petition against the Nepal government and the Army headquarters.

Police had to use force to disperse the protesters. Traffic in and around Singh Durbar area remained disrupted while court proceedings were also affected due the protest.

A group of ex-army men had filed the writ petition at the Supreme Court demanding that the Nepal Army personnel working in United Nations peacekeeping missions be given salary and other benefits as stated in the agreement between the Nepal government and the UN.

According to the ex-servicemen, their writ petition states that the provision to donate a crucial part of the UN peacekeepers’ salary to the army’s Welfare Fund is unjustifiable.