The SC stay order requires the PLA to stop the recruitment in “vacant posts” in its ranks till the court reaches a final verdict on the controversy. Though it is not sure how much time the court will take to settle the recruitment dispute, the court said it would hear the case with priority. [break]
Following recruitment by the Nepal Army, the PLA too announced new recruitment last Tuesday, prompting Inhured International, an NGO, to move the court with a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the recruitment by the PLA.
Responding to the petition, the apex court ordered the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) headed by the prime minister to stop the recruitment. The PLA and the Nepal Army are currently under the AISC, a body provisioned in the Interim Constitution responsible for management and integration of the PLA.
Though the PLA and the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee (JMCC), a UN-led mechanism to settle disputes related to the PLA and the Nepal Army if any, are also defendants, the court refused to issue the order to them.
“Replies from defendant number one – PMO – and defendant number four – AISC – will suffice [in this case]. So there is no need to issue show cause notices to the PLA and JMCC, defendants number two and number three [respectively],” said Justice Damodar Prasad Sharma in the order.
The order follows a similar order by the court in February in the case relating to the recruitment of 3,010 personnel by the Nepal Army. In the order issued on February 22, the apex court had told the army to stop its recruitment process till March 1. The Supreme Court is holding a hearing before a full bench on March 12 to decide whether to continue the February 22 stay order on the recruitment by the Nepal Army.
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