Kathmandu, June 17 

A total of 121 individuals, on behalf of local level government employees, today filed a writ in the Supreme Court seeking an interim order to halt the job advertisement placed by the Public Service Commission.

The PSC recently announced vacancies for more than 9,000 local level positions. The decision has drawn opposition from several quarters, with activists saying the move violates the provision of inclusion enshrined in the constitution.

Today’s writ, the fourth of its kind, comes at a time when the government is defending its decision to hire employees for local levels. In the writ, petitioners have stated that the advertisement violated the Local Government Operation Act 2017. They have stated that the advertisement did not even follow the SC’s past verdict to incorporate limited quota in internal competition.

The writ states that the advertisement has ignored temporary employees and those hired on contract basis, who have been serving for a long time. Parliamentary State Affairs and Good Governance Committee has also ordered the PSC to halt the recruitment process as the advertisement does not honour the principle of inclusion.

Stakeholders say the PSC has not allocated seats for all the clusters that qualify for reservation in government jobs as per the provisions of Article 42 of the constitution. Article 42 of the constitution stipulates: socially backward women, Dalits, indigenous people, indigenous nationalities, Madhesi, Tharu, minorities, persons with disabilities, marginalised communities, Muslims, backward classes, gender and sexual minorities, youths, farmers, labourers, the oppressed or citizens of backward regions and indigent Khas Arya shall have the right to participate in state bodies on the basis of inclusive principle.

In its advertisement, the PSC has allocated some seats for some clusters, but not for all the clusters.