The Supreme Court has rejected government’s request to vacate the apex court’s earlier order to stay the decision of increasing the number of local units in Tarai districts.

Attorney General Raman Kumar Shrestha, on behalf of the government, on June 5 had filed an application at the apex court, requesting it to vacate the stay order.

Increasing the number of local units in Tarai districts is one of the demands of the agitating Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal, which is currently in protest against the local level elections scheduled for June 28.

The government on May 22 had decided to add 22 local units in 12 Tarai districts in a bid to bring the agitating party on board the poll process. But responding to a writ filed against the move, a division bench of Justices Ishwor Khatiwada and Sapana Pradhan Malla on May 26 issued an interim order against the government decision, saying increasing the number of local units in between the two phases of polls “is against Article 295 (3) of the constitution and Clause 4 of Local Level Election Act 2017”.

Of the 744 local units across the country, elections in 283 units of Provinces 3, 4 and 6 were held on May 14, and second phase of voting is scheduled for June 28. With the SC rejecting the government request, elections now have to take place in 461 local units of Provinces 1, 2, 5 and 7.