The Supreme Court has issued a show cause notice to the government and the Office of the President to furnish reasons for the appointments to the constitutional bodies.

A single bench of Justice Kumar Regmi issued the order in response to a writ petition filed by senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi on Wednesday.

The bench has asked the defendants to furnish its clarification within 15 days.

Tripathi has made the Office of the President and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is the chair of the Constitutional Council, the defendants. 

“The Supreme Court has issued a show cause notice and asked the defendants to furnish a written response on the appointments within 15 days,” said Devendra Dhakal, an information officer of the Supreme Court.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday appointed 32 office bearers to 11 constitutional bodies.

The names were recommended by a meeting of the Constitutional Council on December 15.

Though Tripathi had approached the court on Tuesday with his writ demanding that the appointment process be halted, it was registered only on Wednesday, hours after appointments were made.

Tripathi in his writ has demanded that the court bar the newly appointed office bearers from discharging their duties.

“In my petition, I have also said that the appointments were made without following constitutional provisions of parliamentary hearing as the recommendations had not reached the hearing committee,” said Tripathi.

The list of December 15 recommendations was sent to the Parliament Secretariat on December 20 but after Oli dissolved the House of Representatives.

The appointments were made on Wednesday on the 45th day from the date the recommendations were sent to the Parliament Secretariat.

Tripathi has argued that Article 292 has been violated while appointing office bearers on Wednesday.

Articles 292 (1) says parliamentary hearings shall be conducted as to appointments to the offices of the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court, members of the Judicial Council, chiefs and members of Constitutional Bodies, who are appointed on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council under this Constitution, and to the offices of ambassadors, as provided for in the Federal law.

According to Tripathi, it was wrong to invoke Rule 26 (2) of the Joint Parliamentary Meeting Regulation of the federal parliament because the recommendations had not reached the hearing committee.

The rule says there would be no obstruction for the recommended people to assume office in constitutional bodies if the hearing committee fails to take any decision within 45 days of receiving the letter from the Council.