On Monday, a joint bench of Justices Nahakul Subedi and Shrikant Poudel overturned the government's decision to remove Shakya and reinstated him as the executive director of the authority.
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The Supreme Court has ruled that the proposal made by Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Kulman Ghising to the Council of Ministers to appoint Hitendra Dev Shakya, the then Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, as a prejudicial and vindictive measure.
On Monday, a joint bench of Justices Nahakul Subedi and Shrikant Poudel overturned the government's decision to remove Shakya and reinstated him as the executive director of the authority.
Not only that, the court also mentioned in the order that the departmental minister had proposed to remove Shakya in a vindictive manner. The order also states that the decision and action taken based on such a proposal cannot be considered a fair, just and reasonable decision. The order also states that such decisions and actions, which appear arbitrary from the face of the case, cannot be sustained in the eyes of law and justice.
'When it came to removing the Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority from that post, he could be removed according to the procedure and basis mentioned in the Nepal Electricity Authority, Executive Director or General Manager's Terms and Conditions of Service Regulations, 2061 or the performance agreement signed with him, but since it was seen that he was removed from that post without following any such procedure, the proposal of the opposing departmental minister to remove him from that post appeared to be biased and vindictive. The decision and action taken based on such a proposal could not be considered a fair, just and reasonable decision. Such decisions and actions, which appear arbitrary from the face of the matter, cannot be sustained in the eyes of law and justice,' the order said.
The cabinet meeting held on October 20 had decided to remove Hitendra Shakya from the NEA's executive director and transfer him to the position of energy specialist at the Water and Energy Commission. The proposal was taken to the cabinet by Minister Kulman himself. The cabinet meeting held after Kulman took oath as the energy minister removed Shakya from the Nepal Electricity Authority and transferred him to a special post in the secretariat of the Water and Energy Commission. Shakya had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court on October 21, demanding that his post be retained at the NEA.
