The Amicus Curiae formed to help the Supreme Court in its decision on the writ petition filed against the dissolution of the House of Representatives began giving its opinion on the case starting today.
Presenting his opinion, senior advocate Badri Bahadur Karki, one of the five members in the Amicus Curiae, said though the Constitution does not clearly spell out provisions to dissolve the House of Representatives, political power always rests with the Executive. "Article 67 (7) remains silent but Article 76 (1) gives the Prime Minister the power to dissolve the HoR," the former attorney general said.
In response to a query from Justice Sapana Malla on whether to look into constitutional provisions or political matter, Karki said the Constitution enshrines the principle of balance of power, which gives the Prime Minister the right to dissolve the parliament.
Karki concluded his arguments today, and other members of the amicus curiae—Satish Krishna Kharel, Bijaya Kant Mainali, Purna Man Shakya and Geeta Pathak
will follow suit tomorrow.
Pleading by lawyers representing the 13 writ petitioners and on behalf the defendants including the Prime Minister has already been completed. The Constitutional Bench of the SC, that is hearing the case under the leadership of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana, will announce its verdict after the opinion from the Amicus Curiae is completed.
Source: National News Agency Nepal
