KATHMANDU, JANUARY 2

The Supreme Court (SC) has requested a written response from the government in a contempt of court case regarding the failure to enact laws in accordance with the mandamus order issued by the SC on climate change legislation.

A single bench, presided over by Justice Bal Krishna Dhakal, issued this request on Tuesday, giving the government a 15-day deadline to provide an explanation as to why laws related to climate change have not been drafted.

About two weeks ago, Advocate Padam Bahadur Shrestha filed a contempt of court case, asserting that the government has yet to formulate laws on climate change as directed by the SC's mandamus order issued five years ago.

The mandamus order specifically instructed the government to promptly create comprehensive laws addressing climate change, emphasizing the necessity for a separate legal framework to tackle issues arising from climate change, as well as for resilience and mitigation purposes.