SC moved against Beema Samiti

KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 29

The Supreme Court has issued a show cause notice to Beema Samiti and the government, asking them to furnish reason for requiring people to submit citizenship certificates for COVID-19 insurance coverage.

A single bench of Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut issued the order in response to a writ petition filed by Arjun Sah and Ruby Basnet. The court has summoned both sides next Tuesday for hearing when the court will decide on whether or not it should issue an interim order as demanded by the petition.

Executive Director of Forum for Women, Law and Development Sabin Shrestha, who pleaded on behalf of the petitioners said his clients were eligible citizens as per the constitution but they had not been issued Nepali citizenship in the absence of a new federal citizenship law. He said the petitioners’ economic, social and political rights have been violated due to lack of citizenship and as Beema Samiti made it mandatory for people to produce citizenship certificates to have COVID-19 insurance coverage, his clients filed the case against Beema Samiti’s decision.

The petitioners have made the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and Finance Ministry, defendants in the case.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on September 30, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.