Nepal SC Puts President Yadav on Notice
A day after Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ quit as Nepal’s prime minister, the country’s Supreme Court put President Ram Baran Yadav on notice, giving him 10 days to explain why army chief Rukmangad Katuwal was reinstated after he was sacked by a cabinet order.
Hearing a petition challenging Yadav’s direction to the top soldier to continue in his post, the notice came hours after Prachanda accused the President of taking an “unconstitutional and undemocratic decision”.
The Maoists say that Yadav overstepped constitutional liberties while reinstating Gen. Katuwal, who was ousted by the Prachanda government after a stand-off over the en-masse induction of Maoist rebels into the army, which Katuwal stonewalled.
The petition was filed by Nepal-based International Institute for Human Rights, Environment and Development (INHURED), a non-governmental organisation, which sought judicial intervention after casting aspersions over the legality of the Presidential order.
Soon after Prachanda resigned as prime minister, members in the ruling alliance blamed New Delhi for the crisis, the charge was immediately rebutted by India.
