Arrested royalist ministers handed 3-month detention warrants

Three former ministers, who have been arrested on charges of instigating violence in Terai, were handed three-month detention warrants on Wednesday.

The district administrations of Kathmandu and Morang issued detention warrants to former ministers Kamal Thapa, Salim Miya Ansari and Badri Madal under the Public Security Act.

Thapa, the powerful interior minister of the erstwhile royal government, and Ansari were arrested from their residences in the capital while Badri Mandal was arrested in his hometown, Biratnagar. Mandal was shifted to the jail from police custody today.

The three royalist ministers were taken into custody on Monday night and Tuesday morning on suspicion of sanctioning miscreants to foment unrest during the protests carried by Madhesi groups in eastern and southern Terai districts.

Some 80 others, mostly the members of the erstwhile royal cabinet and King's aides, are under the government's watch list, who could be arrested any time, according to reports.

Eight people have died and dozens others injured in ensuing unrest in the Terai flatlands over the last few days

PM, NBA yet to Pick Representatives for JC

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and the Nepal Bar Association (NBA) are yet to nominate their representatives for the Judicial Council (JC).

"Judicial administration has been affected due to delay in the appointment of ex-officio members of the council headed by the Chief Justice," a JC source said.
According to Article 113 of the Interim Constitution, the Judicial Council recommends and offers advice to the government regarding appointment and transfer of, disciplinary action against, and dismissal of judges, and other matters relating to judicial administration.

The five-member council comprises Chief Justice, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and the senior most judge of the Supreme Court, a senior advocate, or an advocate who has at least 20 years of experience to be appointed by the Chief Justice on the recommendation of the NBA, and a person to be nominated by the Prime Minister.

According to a central committee member of the NBA, Tika Ram Bhattarai, the NBA has not been asked by the authorities concerned to nominate its representative for the Judicial Council. "Neither the Chief Justice nor the Ministry of Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs has asked us to nominate our representative," Bhattarai added.

"Though we have not faced serious problem due to lack of officials as of now, formation of a new team is needed as per the Interim Constitution," secretary of the Judicial Council, Prakash Kumar Dhungana, said.

ICJ Call to Ratify Convention on Disappearances

The International Commission of Jurists on Monday urged the government to reaffirm its commitment to check disappearances by ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances and formulating laws to implement the provisions of the convention.

ICJ also urged the government to investigate allegations of past disappearances and try the rights violators in civil courts.

"Given the history of enforced disappearances in Nepal, ratifying the international convention would be a historic step," said Nicholas Howen, the ICJ secretary General. The ICJ also pointed out 2,028 cases of disappearance and the situation of 645 disappeared persons highlighted by the National Human Rights Commission.

The ICJ also urged the government to implement the provisions of the Interim Constitution that ensure relief for the families of the victims.

SC show cause to govt

The Supreme Court on Sunday ordered the government to furnish a written reply regarding the agreement with transport entrepreneurs last week.

Taking up a public interest litigation, Justice Kalyan Shrestha also ordered the government and transport entrepreneurs to be present before the court within seven days.

General Secretary of Consumers' Forum Jyoti Baniya moved the apex court last Friday over the agreement.

Baniya argued before the court that the agreement allowing transport entrepreneurs to pay only Rs 75,000 instead of the existing Rs 300,000 as compensation to victims of vehicular accidents was irrational. Similarly, the writ petition claimed the government decision to waive 75 percent tax for entrepreneurs was unjustifiable.

SC notice on married girls’ share

The Supreme Court today issued show cause notices to government authorities, including the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Cabinet, and wanted to know why married daughters should not be given share of parental property.

A single bench of Justice Kalyan Shrestha issued show cause notices following today’s hearing. The bench gave 15 days’ time to the PMO, the Ministry of Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare and the Secretariat of the Legislature-Parliament to send their answers to the SC.

The bench also issued show cause notices to the same authorities and wanted to know why equal property rights should not be given to married and unmarried daughters in the case of termination of genealogy. The bench has put both the issues on priority list.

The bench was responding to separate Public Interest Litigations filed by advocates Sapana Pradhan Malla and Meera Dhungana challenging the Section 1(a) of the Parental Property Chapter of the amended Civil Code 1963 and Section 2 regarding termination of genealogy.

According to Section 1(a) of the Parental Property Chapter, married daughters are prevented from having a share of parental property and married daughters are not given priority to claim share of the property under Section (2) in case of termination of genealogy.

The advocates have challenged that parental property should be shared even by married daughters and called for an apex court order to provide share of property to married daughters by scrapping the current provisions.

According to Section 2 regarding termination of Genealogy, the property goes to husband, wife, son, unmarried daughter, grandson, and married daughter, in that order. The advocates claimed that it is discrimination between married and unmarried daughters.

Consumer body moves SC over transport accord

Consumers' Rights Forum Friday moved the Supreme Court over the agreement reached between the government and transport entrepreneurs.

The government and the entrepreneurs had inked a 13-point agreement to end the transport strike early this week.

According to the agreement, transport entrepreneurs will have to pay compensation of only Rs 75,000 to the victims of vehicle accidents in place of the existing Rs 300,000. Besides, the government had agreed to the entrepreneurs' demand to waive 75 per cent of tax. The writ petition argues that the agreement violates the government's past decision on banning 20-year old vehicles from plying in the Valley.

The Forum stated that these points in the agreement have violated consumer rights and urged the apex court to intervene.

Lawyers’ concern

Lawyers on Thursday submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet appealing to the government not to authorise the mobile citizenship distribution teams to give away naturalised citizenship certificates. The lawyers claimed that it is the authority of the Home Ministry to distribute the naturalised citizenship certificates as per the Interim Constitution 2007 and Nepal Citizenship Act, 2006 and that any subordinate body under the Ministry cannot exercise the authority. “We have submitted the memorandum along with the signatures of 500 lawyers,” central committee member of the Nepal Bar Association Tika Ram Bhattarai said on Friday.

SC notices to govt on corporal punishment rule
The Supreme Court on friday issued show cause notices to the government authorities, including Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet (PMO), seeking their written explanations within 15 days about the existence of a provision on corporal punishment in the Prison Act 1962.A single bench of Justice Min Bahadur Rayamajhi issued the order responding to a writ petition filed by advocate Achyut Prasad Kharel. The bench also set a 15-day time frame to the authorities — the PMO, the Ministry of Home and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and the Secretariat of the Legislature-Parliament — to submit their affidavits.The petitioner claimed that Section 22 (2) of the Prison Act 1962 has adopted the corporal punishment against the Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment (CAT) 1984 and the Article 26 (1) of the Interim Constitution 2007.

SC Moved to Make Public Rayamajhi Panel Report

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed on Friday at the Supreme Court seeking its order to the government to make public and implement the report prepared by the High-Level Investigation Commission.The commission headed by former Supreme Court Justice Krishna Jung Rayamajhi had probed the suppression of Jana Andolan-II. The commission had submitted its report to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.Advocates Chandra Kanta Gyawali, Arun Gyawali, Raj Kumar Dhakal and Bimal Gyawali filed the petition.Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Prime Minister's Office and Cabinet (PMO) and Deputy Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the team lead by him to investigate on Rayamajhi report have been made defendants in the petition.The petitioners also sought the apex court order to the government to prosecute those accused by the Rayamajhi report of rights violations and misuse of the state treasury to suppress people during the Jana Andolan-II.The petitioners also accused the PMO of not giving them the report despite their request. "Though the report was a matter of public concern, the government did not give us the report. Demanding that the report be given to us, we had filed a petition," the petitioners said."When we went to the PMO demanding a copy of the report, they refused to give it to us. They said it was not the matter of our concern. Now, we have no option except to seek the apex court intervention," the petitioners claimed in the PIL.They also claimed that the report is a matter of public concern as per Article 27 of the Interim Constitution, Article 19(2)(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.The commission, which handed over the report to PM Koirala on November 20, has recommended the government to take action against 202 people.The commission had investigated the suppression of the pro-democratic people by the royal regime after King Gyanendra seized the executive powers on February 1, 2005."Since the government did not do anything to take action against the guilty and make the report public, there is an urgent need for the apex court to intervene on the matter as per the Article 32 and 107 of the Interim Constitution," the petitioners added.

Panel to draft Legislature Regulations

The Interim Legislature has formed a committee to draft Interim Legislature Regulations under the coordination of Purna Bahadur Khadka.

Today's session of the House approved a proposal tabled by MP Mahendra Bahadur Pandey and backed by Dinanath Sharma regarding formation of the 17-member committee.

The committee members include Amrita Thapa, Ashta Laxmi Shakya (Bohara), Aamod Prasad Upadhyaya, Uma Adhikari (Regmi), Khimlal Devkota, Ganesh Shah, Govinda Bikram Shah, Navaraj Subedi, Parshuram Meghi Gurung, Yagyajit Shah, Rajendra Mahato, Radheshyam Adhikari, Renu Kumari Yadav, Lilamani Pokhrel, Sunil Prajapati and Hari Acharya.

The committee has been authorised to manage its working procedure itself and seek help from anyone if need be. The committee may take as long as it needs to finish the task.

SC directs the government to prevent child marriages

The Supreme Court has issued a directive to the government authorities to strictly implement the punishment provision under the Marriage Chapter of Civil Code (Muluki Ain) 1963 to control child marriage.

Acting upon a writ petition filed by a group of advocates including Prakash Mani Sharma of Pro Public, an NGO, special bench of Justices Min Bahadur Rayamajhi, Sharada Shrestha and Balram KC issued the verdict.

“Effectively implement the punishment provision under this chapter,” the bench ordered. The bench also directed the government authorities—the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare—to amend the provision and to launch awareness programme against child marriages. The bench also ordered to adopt advices given by study teams in this regards, reports said.

The bench also scrapped Sub-section 9 of Section 2 under the Marriage Chapter which states that a person can move court only after attaining 18 years of age if he or she knot ties under the age of 18 and wants to null and void the marriage.

The 1963 code has prohibited marriage under the age of 18 without the consent of their guardian.

If anyone less than 10s year old got married, their guardians may face up to 3 years jail sentence and up to Rs 10,000 fine.

Guardians will face up to one year jail term if the age of bride or groom is between 10 to 14 years and guardian may face up to six months jail term and up to Rs 10,000 fine if a 14 to 18 years old person gets married.

Priest and other aides of such illegal marriage may face up to one moth jail sentence or Rs 1,000 fine on charge of encouraging such illegal marriage as per section 2 of the Marriage Chapter

ICJ hails provision to make NHRC as constitutional body

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has welcomed the provision in the interim constitution to recognise the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) as a constitutional body and urged the government and the future Constituent Assembly to address the concerns about the appointments procedure.

“Making the NHRC a constitutional body will bring a welcome increase in the stability and authority of the Commission,” a press release issued by the ICJ quoted Secretary-General of the ICJ Nicholas Howen as saying.

“However, the procedure of appointing Commissioners set out in the Interim Constitution is too dominated by the executive and will weaken it as a body that should be truly independent of the government,” he continued.

“To be recognised as a legitimate national institution, a human rights commission needs to comply with the letter and spirit of the Principles Relating to the Status and Functioning of National Institutions for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (Paris Principles), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 48/134 on 20 December 1993,” the statement added.

The interim constitution has the provision that the Constitutional Council, comprised of the Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker of the legislature and three ministers designated by the Prime Minister will appoint the Chief Commissioner and Commissioners of the NHRC.

The ICJ is concerned that this could also adversely impact on appointments to other constitutional bodies, the statement added.

Saying that the Interim Constitution provides that prior to the appointment of officials to constitutional bodies, a parliamentary hearing must be held, Nicholas Howen added, “Public parliamentary debate is a significant step in ensuring that transparent, consultative and participatory appointments are made to constitutional bodies, such as Nepal's National Human Rights Commission.”

Howen further said that an independent and effective NHRC is important to help ensure the political environment in the coming year that allows free and fair debate and elections, and that all parts of society are able to participate freely in the critical discussions ahead.

“The NHRC will have to monitor the actions of the government and all security forces, intervene to protect human rights and speak out in public. This will require a Commission that is not beholden to any political interests and that will act without fear or favour,” Howen added.

The ICJ also welcomed the continued efforts of the staff of the NHRC, in difficult circumstances, to promote and protect human rights and also called on the future interim cabinet to follow up on the recommendations of the NHRC.

SC okays NA re-tender bid

The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday said that the Nepali Army (NA) could proceed with its re-tender for ration supply for its forces in Jumla.

With this verdict, the apex court has put to rest all controversy over the NA ration supply tenders. Quashing a writ petition over the controversy, Justices Ram Prasad Shrestha and Tahir Ali Ansari said that NA's re-tender move was "legal", and the court need not intervene as sought by the plaintiffs.

The controversy surfaced after news media in December reported irregularities in the awarding of tenders in a half dozen districts in the mid-western region. The army had then cancelled the first tender and called for a fresh one, prompting the winners of the first tender to move the courts.

An investigation by NA also found irregularities in awarding the first tenders, providing a basis for its bid for fresh tenders.

Minister's order cannot overrule legal provisions, say lawyers
Lawyers have started a signature campaign denouncing the decision of the Home Ministry to authorise teams to distribute naturalised citizenship.
The lawyers have also asked the government and the political parties to withdraw the decision.
The campaign, signed by over 300 lawyers, states "to distribute naturalised citizenship - which can be given to foreigners only after fulfilling certain bases and procedures - under pressure from a crowd will jeopardise nationalism."
The campaign is led by lawyers duo Tikaram Bhattarai and Bhimarjun Acharya.
Talking to Nepalnews, Acharya said that the order given by Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula authorising the teams to distribute naturalised citizenship is against the law.
"Even the new Citizenship Act and its Rules have specified the fulfillment of a number of rigorous procedures before a Chief District Officer can confer naturalised citizenship to any foreigner. The Section 5 of the Act and Rule 7 clearly stipulate such procedures. Then how can a Home Minister's order overrule these legal provisions?" Acharya asked.
According to Acharya, bowing down to pressures of crowd could hurt the national identity.
He said that the campaign will collect more signatures (from law practitioners) on Wednesday and then they will be submitted to the Speaker and the Prime Minister on Thursday.
The government has currently dispatched teams across the country to distribute citizenship certificate. Although earlier the teams were only authorised to distribute citizenship based on birth, Sitaula recently instructed teams to also distribute naturalised citizenship.

UNSC adopts Nepal resolution

The United Nations (UN) Security Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution tabled by Secretary General authorizing establishment of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN).
The resolution decided to dispatch a UN mission that will monitor implementation of the peace agreement and disarmament of parties in Nepal.
The UN political mission in Nepal, under the leadership of UN Secretary General's personal representative, Ian Martin, will have a 12-month mandate to monitor "the management of arms and armed personnel of both sides, in line with the provision of the comprehensive peace agreement." the Security Council said in adopting the resolution.
The UNMIN will have five mandates. The UN teams have already started verification of Maoist arms and armies.

Government forms high level commission to probe Lahan incident
The government has formed a three-member high level commission to probe the violent incidences that have wreaked Lahan for the past few days.
According to the statement issued by the Home Ministry, the commission will be headed by Janardan Bahadur Khadka, judge at the Patan Appellate Court. Other members of the commission include joint attorney general RN Pathak and Additional Inspector General of Police Rabindra Pratap Shah.
The commission has been asked to submit its report within fifteen days.
Likewise, the Ministry has also announced compensation of Rs 1 million to the family of one Ramesh Mahato who was killed in a firing in Lahan two days ago.
The meeting of the eight party leaders in the morning had asked the government to form a high level commission to investigate the Lahan incident and provide compensation to victims.

Maoist court slaps Rs 115,000 ‘fine’

Violating party Chairman Prachanda's directives to dissolve all units of their "people's court" and "people's government", a Maoist kangaroo court in Kailali slapped Rs 115,000 fine on one Bhagiram Chaudhary here kantipur reports.
On Saturday, four Maoists reached Chaudhary's house in Pahalmanpur and forced him to be present at their kangaroo court where they kept Chaudhary under their control for seven hours. The former rebels later released Chaudhary on the condition that the latter would pay the sum.
The Maoists have threatened to abduct and detain him in their camp if he failed to pay the "fine". "They freed me after asking several questions that created psychological tension," he said.
The Maoists had presented him at their court when a local Bajari Shing Bam lodged a complaint at the Maoist court against Chaudhary requesting the Maoists to recover Rs 147,000 debt "owed by his father Bishnu Chaudhary" about four years ago.
Bishnu, a supporter of CPN-UML, was killed by Maoists in the past due to his political faith.
A member of Maoist kangaroo court Suyog said they took him under their control for investigation as the case was lodged before dissolving the kangaroo court.
Prachanda had scrapped all units of such "courts" and "governments" on Thursday.

13 ex-securitymen to face charge

The District Police Office (DPO) Chitwan on Sunday filed a case under the Public Offense Act against 13 ex-security personnel, following their arrest for vandalizing public vehicles on Saturday.
The 13 persons, who had earlier served in the army and police force, vandalized 26 vehicles at Pulchowk while demanding reinstatement of their jobs.
They had quit their job during Maoist insurgency. Forming a struggle committee, these "deserters" had protested in the district on Friday and Saturday.
According to DPO, protestors had also blocked vehicular movement at Pulchowk of Narayangadh Saturday. Talking to journalists, Deputy Superintendent of Police Maya Kumar Shah informed that police filed the case as they were found guilty of vandalism that resulted in loss of around 254,000 rupees.
Chairman of the struggle committee Meghnath Adhikari, however, refuted the police claim.

A day without computers in Supreme Court

Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Poudel was unaware of what was happening at the benches on Sunday. He was also unable to know of orders and verdicts judges passed on the day kantipur reports .
Not only was the CJ finding himself helpless, even the employees were confused. "Sir, we are unable to perform our task, is there any solution?" An employee asked Deepak Timalsena, technical director of the Supreme Court.
The until-recently traditional apex court of Nepal faced a unique problem today as employees could not switch on the computers. Thanks to power failure.
The court staff could not update Monday's causa list -- information on the cases to be heard on a particular day --, provide dates, register cases and update the status of cases scheduled to be heard on Sunday.
The court staff, so used to handling big registers until two months ago were strolling around and passing time basking in the sun. They had no clue as to what to do without computers.
Computerization, completed only two months ago, has already made the Supreme Court its slave.
These days, lawyers and people do not need to check daily causa list being by physically present at the court. The "daily roster" is now a click away, and can be accessed from anywhere where there is access to the Internet.
Besides, people and lawyers can know the status of their cases, and even know the exact location of their files in the shelves of the court from their homes.
One can feel the modernization of the apex court as soon as s/he enters the court premises. Status of a particular case at a bench can be seen in the four display boards hung at different locations of the court building.
Nepal Bar Association is also going to have one display board shortly while the Office of the Attorney General already has one.
Chief Justice Poudel acknowledges that technology has been a boon for him. Poudel said he no longer has to ask judges about orders and verdicts on particular cases. "I can read orders and verdicts on my computer, and know what is happening at the benches on this display board," he said pointing to a display board hung on the wall of his office room.
"Efforts are underway to set up a cable television so that stakeholders [of the judiciary] can know the status of their case on the television monitor," he added.
Similarly, soon the CJ will be assigning cases to judges for hearing on a particular day right from his residence at Baluwatar.
Despite such dependence on the computers, how come they have no power back up? "We do have big UPS for servers and every computer has back up for 20 minutes. There is also a generator. Unfortunately even the generator is not working today, so the mess," said Timalsena.

Govt indifferent to rights abuses: NHRC

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) alleged that government and the Maoists were turning deaf ears to the applications and recommendations by the commission in relation with series of incidents on rights violation.
The present democratic government also have been indifferent to human rights as it used to be with the previous governments, said Dhruba Nepal, the officiating secretary at the NHRC .
The allegation has come when UN High Commission for Human Rights, Luise Arbour has expressed concern about the human right situation of Nepal after the beginning of the peace process. “So much so, we have not been able to give justice to member of our own staff, who was killed by police action at the government oppression during the king’s direct rule,” he said.
Out of 147 cases of recommendations made by the NHRC to the government, only 44 were partially or fully implemented.
“Out of 48 recommendations of actions for extra judicial killings by security force only two were implemented and of 13 recommendations over Maoist killing only two were partially implemented,” states report released .
The NHRC have completed investigations on 870 complaints of which 337 cases are related with disappearance made by the security forces, 279 cases of abduction by Maoists, 28 murders by security forces and 14 murders by Maoists. NHRC received 975 complains of violation of human rights from July 17, 2006 to Jan 14 this year.