Kathmandu: The Supreme Court (SC) has issued an interim order to halt the implementation of the Iodized Salt (Production, Sale, and Distribution) Act, 2055 BS (1998 AD), effective from July 17, 2025.
According to National News Agency Nepal, a division bench comprising Justices Til Prasad Shrestha and Mahesh Sharma Paudel issued the order on July 14. The order was issued due to the absence of necessary regulations for enforcing the Act, despite it being passed nearly 25 years ago.
In its ruling, the Court stated that the non-implementation of the Act is unlikely to cause significant harm, thereby issuing the order directed at the Government of Nepal and the Ministry of Health and Population.
The decision comes in response to a writ petition filed by advocate Shital Maharjan, who challenged the enforcement of the Act, citing the lack of requisite regulations for more than two decades.