The single bench of Justice Sushila Karki said that it will hold further hearings on the writ on Monday and decide whether to continue the stay order. “The bench hereby orders the government not to move ahead as per its previous decision to import MRPs from India until our next decision,” reads the SC order. [break]
The apex court has given high priority to the case. “There will be further hearings on the issue with high priority,” the order further reads. Noted lawyer Shambhu Thapa and others pleaded before the court and argued that every Nepali citizen´s right to obtain a passport at the lowest cost should be protected by the government.
Two separate writ petitions were filed at the SC against the government´s decision to award the MRP contract to India.
The petitioners claimed that the government did not adhere to the Procurement Act while awarding the contract. In the petitions, they said that the decision also undermines national sovereignty and integrity.
The cabinet meeting three weeks ago gave its approval to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to negotiate with the Indian government for printing the Machine Readable Passports (MRPs).
The cabinet had allowed MoFA to import the MRPs from India, violating a directive of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The PAC had directed the government to award the MRP contract through competitive bidding.
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