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Kathmandu, December 9: The Supreme Court has annulled the government’s decision to transfer former Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Hitendra Dev Shakya, to the Water and Energy Commission as an energy expert. A joint bench of Justices Nahakul Subedi and Shrikant Poudel revoked the decision to transfer him as an expert to the Energy Commission.

With the Supreme Court’s order, Shakya will be reinstated as the Managing Director of the NEA. The Court stated in its order that the proposal made by the concerned minister was motivated by retaliation. The order notes:

“When the Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority is to be removed from that position, it must be done based on the procedures and grounds mentioned in the ‘Nepal Electricity Authority Executive Director or General Manager Service Terms and Facilities Regulations 2061’ or the performance agreement concluded with the individual. Since none of those procedures were followed in removing him from the post, the proposal made by the opposing departmental minister to remove him appears biased and retaliatory. A decision or action based on such a proposal cannot be considered clean, just, or based on reasonable grounds.”

Regarding this matter, the order further states that since the decision of the Government of Nepal (Council of Ministers) of 2082/06/05 contradicts the prevailing legal provisions, the performance agreement signed with Shakya, and judicial principles repeatedly established by the Supreme Court in various cases, the decision of 2062/06/05—and the actions and correspondence based on it—have been annulled through a mandamus order. The Court has directed that the petitioner be allowed to resume his duties in his previous position as Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority.

The Supreme Court mentioned that a full text of the order will take time to prepare, so a brief order has been issued for now.

People’s News Monitoring Service.