Nepal: Rabi Lamichhane resigns as deputy prime minister and home minister after the Supreme Court ruling. He can now re-apply for Nepali citizenship.
photo: google imageThe Supreme Court on Friday scrapped Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Rabi Lamichhane’s status as a member of the House of Representatives saying that he didn’t have a valid Nepali citizenship. The Constitutional Bench said that his failure to re-acquire Nepali citizenship after renouncing his
As
he doesn’t have Nepali citizenship, he also cannot continue as minister or lead
his party. One must be a Nepali citizen to form a party, contest elections and
hold public positions. Hours after the Supreme Court verdict, Lamichhane
tendered his resignation as a minister, which Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal
approved. Not only did he lose the ministerial berth but also the presidency of
his Rastriya Swatantra Party. Lamichhane had in February 1994 acquired
citizenship by descent from the District Administration Office,
Section 10 of the Act says any Nepali citizen who voluntarily
obtains the citizenship of a foreign country will automatically lose the
citizenship of
He
won the elections with a huge margin against the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML
candidates from Chitwan-2. Formed on July 1 last year, the Rastriya Swatantra
Party won 20 seats in the November 20 elections, becoming the fourth largest
party in the lower house. Now the Election Commission will need to hold a
by-election in Chitwan-2. On December 14, advocates Yubaraj Poudel and Rabiraj
Basaula had registered a writ petition at the Supreme Court, arguing that
Lamichhane cannot be a member of parliament as he doesn’t have the Nepali
citizenship. The petitioners had also demanded that the Supreme Court issue an
interim order to stop Lamichhane from working as a lawmaker until a final court
verdict.
The court refused to issue an interim order in preliminary
hearings on January 6. However, it kept the petition on its priority list and
held continuous hearings starting January 25.
After
two days of hearings, the Karki-led five-member bench concluded that Lamichhane
didn’t follow the due legal process to acquire the Nepali citizenship. Section
11 of the Citizenship Act says if a citizen of Nepal who has acquired foreign
citizenship returns to reside in Nepal and submits to the designated authority
the evidence of renunciation of foreign citizenship, his/her Nepali citizenship
shall be restored. An application needs to be submitted to the respective
office to reclaim the Nepali citizenship as per the Act and its regulation.
The authority concerned, after studying the application, would
then re-issue a citizenship of
Lamichhane returned to
“Lamichhane
has become stateless following Friday’s verdict. He, however, can reclaim the
Nepali citizenship following a due legal course,” Bipin Adhikari, a professor
and a former dean at Kathmandu University School of Law, told the Post.
“However, he can face criminal investigation for flouting citizenship and
passport laws.” The Supreme Court’s verdict has also opened the door for
investigating Lamichhane over the possession of dual citizenships and
passports, according to legal experts.
Lamichhane had acquired a Nepali passport by producing the
citizenship he got in 1994 even before giving up his American citizenship.
Amrit Kharel, who pleaded on behalf of the plaintiff, said Lamichhane was
simultaneously in possession of American and Nepali passports. “He faces jail
for possessing two passports,” he told the Post. “He also needs to be
investigated for treason. A non-Nepali has accessed the country’s sensitive
information by becoming a deputy prime minister and home minister.” A
conviction for treason attracts 25 years of jail. He said the government must
immediately start an investigation against him.
Ahead of the November
2022 elections, complaints had been lodged at the Election Commission demanding
the scrapping of his candidacy as he was not a Nepali citizen, but the
commission took no action. Similarly, the District Administration Office
Kathmandu too didn’t investigate his citizenship’s validity.
The Rastriya Swatantra Party has become headless following Friday’s verdict. However, that doesn’t impact the party’s legitimacy. “I don’t think Lamichhane’s lack of citizenship will affect the party’s legitimacy. But the party will now have to select a new president,” Shaligram Sharma Poudel, spokesperson of the Election Commission, told the Post.
binod ghimire
kathmandupost
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