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KATHMANDU, JANUARY 25The Supreme Court will continue hearing the case filed against Rastriya Swatantra Party Chair Rabi Lamichhane, raising questions about the status of his Nepali citizenship.
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The five-member constitutional bench of the pinnacle court led by Acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki heard arguments from both sides but listed it for continuous hearing as the petitioners lawyers did not have time to rebut Lamichhanes arguments.
Yubaraj Paudel Safal, and Raviraj Basaula and Nani Babu Khatri had actually filed 2 writ petitions versus Lamichhane challenging his election to the HoR.
They argued that Lamichhanne was not a Nepali person when he objected to the election due to the fact that he did not initiate the necessary process of getting his Nepali citizenship brought back after renouncing his American passport.
Lamichhane also faces allegation of holding both American and Nepali citizenships together, thus breaking the dominating laws.
The petitioners attorney Senior Advocate Surendra Bhandari argued that Lamichhane had challenged the rule of law as he acquired Nepali passport on 27 May 2015 when he was an American citizen.Lamichhane had argued that he had notified the Department of Immigration on 22 September 2018 of his petition looking for renouncement of American passport.
Bhandari said Lamichhanes argument might not be thought about as petition to get his Nepali citizenship restored.
He stated a person looking for restoration of his/her Nepali citizenship must file a petition prior to the competent authority in a recommended format, which Lamichhane had actually refrained from doing.
He stated in his pleading note that Lamichhane was not a Nepali citizen.Bhandari said the SC, while adjudicating the citizenship case field by Surendra Bahadur Shrestha, held that the status of a Nepali citizenship who obtains another nations citizenship can not be that of a Nepali person.
According to this precedent, Lamichhanes present status is that of a non-resident Nepali and he can get his Nepali citizenship restored just if he satisfies the procedural obligation.Senior Advocate Sushil Panta pleaded on behalf of Lamichhane.Joint Attorney Sanjeeb Raj Regmi pleaded on behalf of Lamichhane arguing that the petitioners did not have locus standi to file the case.
He said your home of Representatives Election Act and Rules associated to the exact same Act stated that only candidates would have the authority to submit a case against another prospect whom they believe is disqualified.
Regmi stated Lamichhanes Nepali citizenship got immediately restored after he renounced his American passport and lack of treatment might not be a ground for denying him the possibility to get his citizenship restored.Lamichhane had submitted his written reply to the Supreme Court arguing that the laws and rules governing the process of getting ones Nepali citizenship restored did not use to him as he had actually never ever renounced his Nepali citizenship.He also said the Citizenship Rules had not plainly provisioned the procedures for individuals like him to get his Nepali citizenship restored.In the parliamentary elections held on 20 November 2022, Lamichhane won from Chitwan Constituency No 2 with a huge margin and his celebration, in its maiden effort, won 20 seats.Safal specified in his petition that Lamichhane, who had acquired his Nepali citizenship on 22 February 1994, obtained US citizenship on 21 February 2014 and US passport on 5 March 2014.
He renounced his American passport on 28 June 2018, but did not start the procedure of getting his Nepali citizenship restored as mandated by Section 11 of the Nepal Citizenship Act and Rule 11 of the Nepal Citizenship Regulations.The petitioners had actually advised the court to invalidate Lamichhanes subscription of the HoR and the RSP, as well as his status of RSP chair.
Other justices that sat on the constitutional bench included justices Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada, Bishwombhar Prasad Shreshta, Ananda Mohan Bhattarai, and Anil Kumar Sinha.A variation of this post appears in the print on January 25, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
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This post first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com
Nepal
[Nepal] - SC to continue hearing Lamichhane -# 039; s case
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