The writ petition demands that Kandel's appointment be nullified as he did not meet the qualifications prescribed by the constitution as he had returned from a long stay in the UK.
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The Supreme Court has issued a show cause order on the writ petition filed by Attorney General Narayan Dutt Kandel and called for a discussion. A single bench of Justice Kumar Regmi on Thursday called for a discussion on whether to issue an interim order.
The Supreme Court held the first hearing on the writ petition filed by advocates Madhav Kumar Basnet, Deepak Raj Joshi and Shivraj Baral.
The writ petition claims that Kandel, who was appointed as the Attorney General, does not meet the qualifications as per Articles 157(3) and 129(5) of the Constitution of Nepal.
Article 157(3) of the Constitution states that a person who is qualified to be a judge of the Supreme Court shall be eligible for appointment to the post of Attorney General. Article 129(5) of the Constitution stipulates the qualifications for a judge of the Supreme Court. It has been stated that ‘A Nepali citizen who has obtained a bachelor’s degree in law and worked as a Chief Justice or Judge of a High Court for at least five years, or who has obtained a bachelor’s degree in law and practiced law as a senior advocate or advocate for at least fifteen years, or who has worked continuously in the field of justice or law for at least fifteen years and has gained a reputation as a distinguished jurist, or who has worked in a gazetted first class or higher post of the Judicial Service for at least twelve years, shall be considered eligible for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court.
The Attorney General must have practiced law for at least 15 years continuously, but the writ petition demands that his appointment be nullified as he did not meet the qualifications prescribed by the constitution as he had been living in the UK for a long time and returned.
Earlier, the Supreme Court administration had also made the Chief Justice a defendant. The writ petitioner had filed a new writ petition removing the defendant. On 22 Chaitra, Prime Minister Balendra Shah appointed Kandel as the Attorney General as the government's legal advisor.
