Kathmandu, December 21

The Supreme Court today ordered the Nepal Bar Association and the Supreme Court Bar Association each to send three senior advocates as amici curiae (friends of the court) to present their arguments in a case filed by Advocate Chandra Kant Gyawali and others seeking to hold interim local polls.

The order was passed by joint bench of justices Cholendra SJB Rana and Hari Krishna Karki. Gyawali said the court sought the arguments of amici curiae as there was serious constitutional question involved in the case.

Gyawali told THT that the spirit of the constitution was to hold polls to local bodies first and not local level and the government should honour the spirit of the constitution.

Article 303 (3) of the constitution stipulates: The officials of the local bodies elected in accordance with clause (2) shall continue to hold office until election to the local level is held in accordance with this constitution.

According to Gyawali, the court also scheduled the final hearing on the case for December 28. Advocate Sunil Kumar Patel had filed an application on May 18 seeking third party intervention in the case. Patel sought to join the case as a party, saying the issue was related to the interests of Madhesi community and he wanted to represent his community.

Gyawali said he had argued in the case that as per Article 303, polls to local bodies and not local levels should be held. Gyawali said preparation for creating infrastructure for local government may take a year or two and therefore, the framers of the constitution envisaged interim local polls.