KATHMANDU, JANUARY 6

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane got a reprieve as the Supreme Court refused to issue an interim order against him in a case filed by two petitioners raising questions about the status of his Nepali citizenship.

The five-member constitutional bench led by Acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki decided not to issue an interim order on writ petitions filed by Yubaraj Paudel 'Safal' and Raviraj Basaula against Chair of Rastriya Swatantra Party Rabi Lamichhane, challenging his election but the court listed the case for priority hearing. The next hearing of the case has been scheduled for January 25.

In the parliamentary elections held on November 20, Lamichhane won from Chitwan Constituency No 2 with a huge margin and his party, in its maiden attempt, won 20 seats in the Lower House of the Parliament.

Petitioners have cited Sections 10 and 11 of the Nepal Citizenship Act and Rule 11 of Nepal Citizenship Regulations, questioning Lamichhane's eligibility to contest HoR elections.

The court has asked both sides to present their written pleading notes by January 25, adding that the case hearing cannot be postponed if demanded by either of the case parties. The bench also ordered to procure relevant documents from the Election Commission, the Department of Immigration, and the Ministry of Home Affairs within seven days.

Petitioners have argued that Lamichhane, who had become a US citizen, did not initiate legal process of getting his Nepali citizenship restored after renouncing his American citizenship in 2018.

Petitioners have made Lamichhane and the Election Commission defendants in the case.

Arguing on behalf of Safal, Advocate Raman Kumar Karna said Lamichhane had admitted before the Election Commission that he had not legally renounced his Nepali citizenship and when he came to Nepal after obtaining the American passport, he obtained visa from Nepali mission and worked in Nepal as a foreign citizen on the basis of work permit issued to him.

Karna argued that the Nepali law stipulated that restoration of Nepali citizenship would be automatic but for that one must initiate the process.

Joint Attorney Sanjeeb Raj Regmi pleaded in favour of Lamichhane, saying that the petitioners did not have the right to seek action in the case as candidates who contested from Chitwan-2 had not challenged Lamichhane's victory.

He said there was no validity of issuing an interim order as Lamichhane had already taken the oath of office and secrecy as a member of the HoR and was a member of the Cabinet.

He argued that a Nepali citizen's citizenship is automatically restored once s/he renounces foreign country's citizenship.

He said as more than four years had passed since he renounced American citizenship, Lamichhane's Nepali citizenship could not be challenged on the ground of not initiating the process of restoring Nepali citizenship, he argued.

Regmi said the Government of Nepal had not invalidated his citizenship. 'Even if a Nepali citizen does not obtain citizenship, s/he remains a Nepali citizen,' he said. He cited the example of children below 16 years of age. 'Children whose mothers and fathers are Nepali citizens are also considered Nepalis though they cannot obtain Nepali citizenship before 16 years of age,' he argued.

Apart from Lamichhane's election, Safal has also challenged the registration of the Rastriya Swatantra Party in the Election Commission, arguing that party Chair Lamichhane is not a Nepali citizen.

Safal stated in his petition that Lamichhane, who had obtained his Nepali citizenship on 22 February 1994, obtained US citizenship on 21 February 2014 and US passport on 5 March 2014.

However, he renounced his American passport on 28 June 2018, but did not initiate the process of getting his Nepali citizenship restored as mandated by Section 11 of the Nepal Citizenship Act and Rule 11 of the Nepal Citizenship Regulations.

Petitioners have urged the court to invalidate Lamichhane's membership of the HoR and the RSP, as well as his status of RSP chair.

Safal has also urged the court to order Kathmandu District Administration to punish Lamichhane for submitting false documents to contest elections.

RSP is a partner in the seven-party ruling alliance.

A version of this article appears in the print on January 7, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.