December 06, 2005

KATHMANDU:   The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday issued a show cause notice to the government for not enacting laws and regulations in connection to make the provisions for reservation, a positive discrimination to women, Dalits and indigenous communities.

A single bench of justice Anup Raj Sharma ordered the vice-chairmen of the Council of Ministers, Education Minister and Law Minister to furnish written reply within 15 days as to why they should not be punished for not respecting the 13 month old order relating to rights of indigenous people and other marginalized people.

The Court has issued the order in response to a ‘contempt of court case’ filed by advocates Deepak Kumar Rai and Shree Prasad Budhathoki on behalf of Human Rights of Indigenous People Concern Center three months ago.

The petitioner claimed that the government had not followed the order of SC, where the Court had directed the government to make the provision for reservation by making laws last year.

The government had allocated 20, 15, and 10 percent reservation to women, Dalits and indigenous community respectively. The Court had issued directives to the government to manage reservation by enacting laws in response to the writ petitions filed against the government’s decision of positive discrimination last year.