Kathmandu, March 5:

A former Justice of the Supreme Court, Laxman Prasad Aryal, today said that the 1990 Constitution does not bar people from going to an election to a constituent assembly if the sovereign people want to draft a new constitution.

“Those who have sovereign power can draft a new constitution,” said Aryal, one of the drafters of the present Constitution, at the Reporters’ Club today. He said it was unconstitutional on the part of the King to head the Council of Ministers even after the Supreme Court verdict that scrapped the Royal Commission for Corruption Control, which was formed as per as per the monarch’s order.

President of the Nepal Bar Association, Shambhu Thapa, said since the King has violated the 1990 Constitution, there is no other option than to draft a new statute. He questioned why the King did not want to work with the parliament.

Former Law Minister Nilambar Acharya said the present Constitution does not have any provision for an active monarchy.

However, advocate Balkrishna Neupane said he would not support the NBA’s decision to go for a constituent assembly election. “NBA’s decision does not have any legal base,” he said, adding that the conference of the lawyers, which concluded yesterday, did not provide any room for different opinions during the sessions.