Kathmandu, Nov 1: The Supreme Court has ordered former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, and two others to submit a written response within 15 days regarding the government’s decision to seize their passports and restrict their travel outside the Kathmandu Valley.

A single bench of Justice Nrip Dhwaj Niraula issued the order on Friday after a preliminary hearing on a writ petition filed by advocate Dr. Premraj Silwal on October 28. The petition demanded that the government’s move be annulled as unconstitutional and illegal, and sought an interim order to protect their constitutional rights. The court, however, did not issue the interim order.

The travel ban and passport suspension stem from recommendations made by a government probe committee investigating incidents that took place on September 8 and 9. Based on the committee’s report, the government had decided to restrict movement and seize passports of five individuals, including Oli and Lekhak.

Others affected by the order are former Home Secretary Gokarna Mani Duwadi, former National Investigation Department Chief Hutaraj Thapa, and former Kathmandu Chief District Officer Chhabi Rijal.

Meanwhile, the UML Secretariat meeting is set for Saturday morning at Oli’s temporary residence in Gundu, Bhaktapur, where party leaders said the issue will be among two key agenda items for discussion.

People’s News Monitoring Service