Kathmandu, October 19:

The Supreme Court today issued an order to the government authorities including the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Ministry of Defence to reinstate major general Pradip Pratap Bam Malla whom the government had given retirement some three months ago.

A special bench of Justices Sharada Shrestha, Rajendra Kumar Bhandari and Tahir Ali Ansari issued the order following today’s hearing. The bench ordered the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and Ministry of Defence to reinstate him as it was illegal to give him retirement. The bench stated that the government had given retirement to Malla based on the amendment of Army Regulation that reduced the tenure of the major general for three years from five years of the previous provision. The government had given him retirement after he had served three years in the post.

Challenging the retirement, Malla had filed a writ petition at the apex court and claimed that the provision cannot be implemented on him in a retrospective effect and he claimed that he should get two more years in service. Malla is one of the high-ranking army officials who was in line to become the chief of army staff of Nepali Army after a few years.