Kathmandu: Supreme Court Bar Association of Nepal has strongly opposed the move of the caretaker government to introduce the ordinance to amend the National Criminal Procedure (Code) Act (2017).
It is objectionable that the caretaker government brings ordinance to amend the law with the intention to withdraw several of serious cases pending at the court and submits the ordinance to the president for authentication, reads the statement issued by Supreme Court Bar Association. The ordinance makes mockery of constitutional supremacy, rule of law, legal norms and values, established norms of criminal laws, and the principles established by the Supreme Court, reads the statement.
The caretaker government should immediately revoke the decision of bringing ordinance and withdraw the ordinance from the office of the president, the Bar has demanded.
The cabinet meeting on Sunday had introduced the ordinance to amend the National Criminal Procedure (Code) Act (2017) and submitted it to the office of the president for authentication on Monday.
The ordinance, if authenticated by the president, gives the right to the government to free the prisoners who are facing the jail terms on various criminal charges.
The government brought the ordinance to secure release of Resham Chaudhary and other convicts who are in jail on charge of perpetrating Tikapur massacre. The ruling parties have approached Nagarik Unmukti Party, the brainchild of Resham Chaudhary, who has been pronounced guilty of masterminding the lynching in Tikapur of Kailali in 2015 and who is currently serving sentence in Dilli Bazaar jail, to seek his support in formation of new government.
Nagarik Unmukti Party holds four seats in parliament–enough to achieve majority status for forming the new government for the ruling alliance. The parties in ruling alliance have 136 seats in lower house, while they need total of 138 seats to form the new government.
The government’s move to bring the ordinance has been widely criticized in Nepal.
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