Lawyers pleading on behalf of the petitioner, in the case of controversial Code of Conduct for national and international non-governmental organizations (I/NGOs’), have demanded clarification from the Ministry for Defense (MoD) regarding its stance in the issue.
The lawyers have demanded for such action after it was revealed that the MoD had asked the Ministry for Women, Children and Social Welfare to make such code of conduct.
Pleading in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, former Law Minister Subhash Nebwang questioned the intention of the MoD while promulgating the NGOs’ code of conduct.
“The MoD has done this with a mala-fide motive and has clearly directed the Ministry of Women Children and Social Welfare (MWCSW) to control NGOs,” he argued.
A full bench comprising Justices Sharada Shrestha, Hari Jung Sijapati and Top Bahadur Magar has been testing the constitutionality of the conduct code.
Advocates Sapana Pradhan Malla, Bhimarjun Acharya and Bishnu Chapagain claimed that the code of conduct was issued against the spirit of the 1990 Constitution.
They sought the SC order to continue the stay order issued last week till a final decision in the case.
The NGO Federation of Nepal, the umbrella organization of NGOs, has announced protest program against the move of Social Welfare Council (SWC) saying it is an attempt to curb free activities of the NGOs’.
However officials of the SWC claim that it is an attempt to systematize and make the NGO sector systematic and transparent.