In what can be deemed as a significant move, the Supreme Court (SC) on Sunday issued an interim order to the Defense Ministry and the Nepal Army to halt the process of inducting new personnel in the army.

In a response to the writ petition filed by INHURED International against the process of new recruitment drive unleashed by the NA, a single bench of the SC headed by Justice Anup Raj Sharma ordered immediate halt to the new induction till Feb 28.

While issuing its order, the court has stated that it will conduct further hearing to substantiate whether the process violates the spirit of the peace process and the interim constitution.

The Army Headquarters and the Defense Ministry have long been locking horns over the recruitment of some 2,884 personnel in NA. The NA top brass has been defending the recruitment drive as a regular process which does not go against the basic tenets of the peace process and the interim constitution whereas the Defense Ministry has termed the drive as something which infringed upon both of them. nepalnews.com nd Feb 22 09