Kathmandu, May 7

In third such decision, the Supreme Court today stayed the implementation of the home ministry’s April 3 circular that ordered all 77 district administration offices to issue citizenship by descent to children of citizens by birth.

A division bench of justices Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada and Sushmalata Mathema issued the interim stay order acting on a writ petition filed by Senior Advocate Bal Krishna Neupane.

In the interim order, the SC has stated that the issue should be settled by the SC’s full bench as different orders issued by the SC previously created confusion in the implementation of the SC’s order.

The SC has ordered the authorities concerned, including the government and the Ministry of Home Affairs, not to implement the ministry’s circular until the SC’s full bench decides on the case.

Earlier, immediately after the home ministry issued the circular, Neupane had filed a writ petition in the SC seeking a stay on the circular’s implementation.

Acting on the writ petition, a division bench of justices Hari Krishna Karki and Bam Kumar Shrestha had then decided that no stay order was needed in the case.

However, in another writ petition filed by Senior Advocate Borna Bahadur Karki, a division bench of Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana and Purushottam Bhandari had stayed the implementation of the ministry’s circular.

Advocate Neupane again filed a writ petition in the SC, stating that the SC’s two decisions in the same case had created confusion, and the circular’s implementation should be stayed.

In the circular, the ministry had said it took the decision considering the constitutional provision, the fact that the bill to amend the Citizenship Act was still under discussion in the Parliament, verdicts of the Supreme Court and high courts and hardship faced by such individuals in terms of pursuing education and career development for not having citizenship.

The ministry had told DAOs to issue citizenship by descent to individuals applying for the same attaching citizenship of their parents as per the Citizenship Act, Citizenship Rules and Citizenship Certificate Distribution Manual.