Of the eight ordinances issued by the government in Baisakh, four ordinances will automatically become inactive as they cannot be approved by Parliament within the 60-day time limit set by the Constitution. Of the remaining four ordinances, only two have been passed by the Legislative Management Committee of the National Assembly, while the other two are still under discussion in the committee, making it a challenge to complete the entire process in both the House of Representatives and the National Assembly and have them certified in time.

On the government's recommendation, President Ram Chandra Paudel issued eight ordinances between 17 and 22 Baisakh. These ordinances were tabled in both houses of the Federal Parliament on 28 Baisakh. According to Article 114 of the Constitution, a replacement bill for an ordinance must be passed by both houses within 60 days of its presentation. Otherwise, the ordinance automatically becomes inactive. The 60-day constitutional deadline for the ordinances tabled on 28 Baisakh will be completed on 25 Asar.

Of the eight ordinances issued by the government, four ordinances that were embroiled in political controversy from the outset have been put on 'hold' without moving forward in the regular parliamentary process.

The process to have the Constitutional Council (Functions, Duties, Powers and Procedures) First Amendment Ordinance, the Special Provisions on Dismissal of Public Officials Ordinance, and the Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to Universities approved by the House of Representatives and the National Assembly could not move forward.

Only after approval by both houses of the Federal Parliament can a replacement bill for an ordinance be advanced. Although the ruling party has near two-thirds support in the House of Representatives, it has no representation in the National Assembly. In understanding with the opposition Congress and UML, the government moved forward with four ordinances and put the other four on 'hold'.

The four ordinances that the government has advanced through the regular law-making process are the Cooperative (First Amendment) Ordinance, the Public Procurement (Second Amendment) Ordinance, the Asset Laundering (Money Laundering) Prevention (Third Amendment) Ordinance, and the Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to the Health Sciences Academy. Replacement bills for these four ordinances have already been passed by the House of Representatives and have reached the National Assembly.

However, even after reaching the National Assembly, the process for these bills has not been completed. The Legislative Management Committee of the National Assembly passed the replacement bills for the Asset Laundering (Money Laundering) Prevention Ordinance and the Health Sciences Academy-related Ordinance with suggestions on Wednesday, according to Prem Dangal, leader of the UML Parliamentary Party in the National Assembly.

The replacement bills for the Public Procurement (Second Amendment) Ordinance and the Cooperative (First Amendment) Ordinance are still under discussion in the committee. Many amendment proposals have been registered for both these bills in the committee. A meeting of the committee has been called for Thursday morning to reach consensus on the discussion of the other two bills.

Kamala Pant, leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the National Assembly, said that the bills would be passed with amendments by the Legislative Committee on Thursday morning. "Based on give-and-take, all four ordinances will be passed unanimously by the committee on Thursday morning," she said. "The government is ready to pass them with amendments; after that, the government will concede some points, and the committee will also concede some points and pass them."

UML leader Dangal, however, said it is still uncertain whether the two bills under discussion will be passed. "It depends on how many of the committee's amendments the government accepts and how many it rejects," he said.

Since the government must complete the process of discussion, decision, and then certification of the bills, there is time pressure to have all four replacement bills passed and sent for certification by Thursday. However, the Federal Parliament Secretariat claims that the deadline is until Friday, counting from the day after the ordinances were tabled, i.e., from 29 Baisakh. Secretary General Padma Prasad Pandey said that, according to legal and traditional practice, the counting of days starts from the day after the ordinances are tabled, so the deadline is until Friday. "The law relating to legal interpretation, the Civil Procedure Code, and several court decisions all provide that the count starts from the day after the tabling, so the deadline for passing the ordinances is until Friday, counting from 29 Baisakh," he said.

However, sub-clause 2(1)(a) of Article 114 of the Constitution states, "Each ordinance shall be tabled in both houses of the Federal Parliament after its issuance, and if both houses do not accept it, it shall automatically become inactive." Sub-clause (b) states, "It may be annulled by the President at any time." Sub-clause (c) states, "If it is not made inactive or annulled as per sub-clauses (a) and (b), it shall automatically become inactive after 60 days from the date of the sitting of both houses."

The explanation regarding when to start counting the 60 days is also provided therein. It states, "For the purpose of this sub-clause, the day the sitting of both houses is held means the day the session of both houses of the Federal Parliament commences or the day the first sitting is held, and if the sittings of the houses are held at different times, it refers to the day the later sitting is held."

The sittings of both houses of the Federal Parliament were held on 28 Baisakh, and all eight ordinances were tabled in both houses on the same day. Senior Advocate Chandrakanta Gyawali said that the counting of time starts from the first sitting of the Federal Parliament. "Since the sitting of the Federal Parliament was held on 28 Baisakh, the counting starts from that day; if not passed within sixty days, it becomes inactive. This is also the spirit, intent, and provision of the Constitution," he said.

List of Ordinances to Become Inactive

1) Constitutional Council (Functions, Duties, Powers and Procedures) First Amendment Ordinance