The Supreme Court has issued a show-cause order to three lawmakers of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, asking them to explain why they should not be suspended.

Responding to separate writ petitions filed by their rivals in the March 5 polls, the Constitutional Bench has also asked whether they had misled the Election Commission while filing their candidacy.

The petitioners had sought interim orders seeking annulment of their candidacies, alleging that they contested and won the March 5 parliamentary elections, misleading the Election Commission despite being blacklisted by the Credit Information Bureau of Nepal (CIB-Nepal). But the constitutional bench declined, stating that such orders cannot be issued on the basis of one-sided arguments.

The court noted that the defendants have already taken the oath and begun serving as lawmakers, and said the case will proceed to a final hearing after written responses are submitted.

On Monday, the constitutional bench led by the acting Chief Justice issued an order asking why an interim order should not be granted.

The bench comprising acting Chief Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla and justices Kumar Regmi, Hari Prasad Phuyal, Manoj Kumar Sharma, and Nahakul Subedi has ordered the EC and the CIB to submit written responses clarifying whether the lawmakers are blacklisted. The defendants have also been asked to clarify whether they disclosed or concealed such information in their self-declarations during candidacy registration.

The court has directed all parties to appear with legal counsel within 15 days and to submit written replies within the same period, after which the bench will conduct a full hearing. Separate petitions have been filed against each of the three lawmakers.

On March 17, CPN-UML candidate Pradip Kumar Katuwal filed a petition against Dhanendra Karki, elected from Sindhuli constituency 1. The petition claims that Karki was listed as a defaulter four times in February and remained blacklisted as a promoter-director of Biju Cooperative until February 23, but concealed this information while filing his candidacy.

Karki, however, told the Post that he was not blacklisted at the time of filing his candidacy and said he had only heard rumours about the petition.

Similarly, a petition filed by UML candidate Ambar Bahadur Rayamajhi against RSP lawmaker Surya Bahadur Tamang, elected from Udayapur constituency 2, claims that Tamang filed his candidacy despite being associated with Makalu Kanjiruwa Auto Link Pvt Ltd, which was blacklisted due to repeated cheque bounce cases.

According to CIB-Nepal records, the company is blacklisted and lists Lila Rai and Surya Bahadur Tamang as its directors. The petition alleges that multiple bounced cheques led to the blacklisting, which was not disclosed during candidacy registration.

Another defendant is RSP lawmaker Ramakant Prasad Chaurasia, elected from Parsa constituency 3. Nepali Congress candidate Surendra Prasad Chaudhary has filed a petition against him.

The constitutional bench will decide on the allegations after receiving written responses. If it is proven that the EC was misled, their candidacies will be annulled, and by-elections will be held.

Meanwhile, a separate petition filed by Kishori Sah, an RSP candidate from Dhanusha constituency 1, is also under consideration. His candidacy had been annulled by the EC two days before the March 5 elections.

Following the decision, the EC declared Matrika Prasad Yadav of the Nepal Communist Party as the winner and issued him the certificate.

Sah challenged the decision at the court, but on March 15, the court declined to issue an interim order and sent the case for a final hearing.

CIB-Nepal had informed the EC that Sah, associated with Kamal Nirman Sewa, had been blacklisted on December 22, 2023 and October 17, 2022, leading to complaints and the cancellation of his candidacy.