TWO DEAD, 14 INJURED IN NUWAKOT MICROBUS ACCIDENT
Kathmandu, 18 April: Three persons died and 41 persons were injured in
two vehicular accidents in neighbouring districts on Trishuli in the northwest and Makwanpur in the south Wednesday morning.:
Two persons died and 14 were injured
when a microbus hurled into a gorge at Madanpur VDC in neighbouring Nuwakot
Wednesday morning.
The microbus was heading for the capital from Trishuli.
One person died and 27 were injured in another vehicular accident at
Tintapke in Makwanpur Wednesday morning.
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PARAS KHADKA TO PLAY IN CANADIAN PREMIER LEAGUE
Kathmandu, 19 April: National al team skipper Paras Khadka will be the
first Nepali cricketer to play as a professional when he joins
Ontario Cricket Academy and Club (OCA) in this year’s Canada Premier
League in May, Khadka said Wednesday..
He has been cleared by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) and his club.
Shakti Gauchan just returned from joining a training camp with Rajasthan
Royals to play in the IPL.
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SUPREME COURT HURDLES ON AMNESTY FOR CRIMES
Kathmandu, 18 April: The Supreme Court today [Tuesday] barred the government from withdrawing serious criminal cases from the courts, The Himalayan Times reports.
Though it upheld the authority of the Cabinet to withdraw cases lodged by the government prosecutors, a division bench of justices Kalyan Shrestha and Gyanendra Bahadur Karki
issued a six-point guideline limiting the authority of the government to withdraw cases of heinous crimes.
The executive has been exercising its power to withdraw cases against the perpetrators linked to the ruling parties, in accordance with Section 29 of the State Cases Act. The records of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Office of the Attorney General show that more than 1,000 criminal cases have been withdrawn since the restoration of democracy in 1990.
SC issued the directive while settling three writ petitions filed by Sukadev Yadav, advocate Gopi Bahadur Bhandari and Hari Maya Danai challenging three-year-old decision taken by Madhav Kumar Nepal-led Cabinet to withdraw criminal cases. The bench observed that the concerned district courts have the final right to decide whether a case is suitable for withdrawal or not.
The bench also authorised the Bara and Lamjung district courts to take the final call on whether to let the government withdraw murder cases pending before them. Ram Prakash Yadav, Kanhaiya Yadav and Dara Yadav were killed on 6 January 2010 and the case against 22 accused is pending in the Bara District Court. Another murder case is pending in Lamjung District Court.
The families of the victims had filed a petition after the Cabinet decision to withdraw the cases.
Six-point guideline
• The government cannot withdraw cases related to intended homicide, state offence, war crimes, cruel and inhuman nature of human rights violation, organised crime, crime against women and children, ethnic cleansing and cases against public welfare.
• The government authorities should consult the Attorney General and the prosecuting authorities before taking a decision while withdrawing cases from the courts.
• The concerned district courts should decide whether a case is suitable for withdrawal or not.
• The government cannot withdraw any criminal case pending in any court of law if the accused is at large.
• The government should compensate the victims as per legal provision while withdrawing any particular case. It should let the victims participate in the hearing related to withdrawal of cases.
• The government should reform its norms related to the withdrawal of cases passed by the Cabinet on 17 August 1998.
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PACT ON PM, PRESIDENT ELECTION
Kathmandu, 18 April: Major parties have inched closer to reach an agreement on a mixed governance system, whereby the prime minister will be elected by the Parliament and president by the electoral-college, Prakash Acharya reports in The Himalayan Times.
Though the parties floated such a model at the two-day Hattiban conclave, they are yet to decide on the structure of electoral-college, the leaders who attended the meeting held on Sunday and Monday on the outskirts of Kathmandu told The Himalayan Times.
Talking to THT, Nepali Congress parliamentary party leader Ramchandra Paudel said, “We have reached an understanding to elect the prime minister through the Parliament and make him/her responsible to the House. We are discussing about the structure of electoral-college for presidential election.”
UCPN-M Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said after Constitutional Committee meeting that the Hattiban meeting ended on a positive note with agreement in sight on several issues, including forms of governance. “Mixed-system is the rallying point. We are discussing how to make the governance more stable,” he said.
Major parties have also agreed to make maximum efforts to resolve contentious constitutional issues within five days and in case of failure to do so, take them up at the Constituent Assembly’s full house meeting on April 23 for voting.
However, even voting may not be the solution if any of the issues does not get simple majority for endorsement. Existing CA regulation is not clear on what to do if any of the issues could not be endorsed.
The CA full house should endorse an issue through majority voting before sending it to the Constitutional Committee, which is mandated to prepare the first draft of the new statute. To end the stalemate, the CA will have to amend its regulation prior to voting. Nepali Congress Chief Whip Laxman Ghimire said the parties would have no way but to reach a consensus even when they vote on contentious issues.
Meanwhile, the Problem Resolution Sub-committee led by Maoist leader Dahal today decided to buy five more days to find consensus, as the deadline given to the Sub-committee by the CA’s Business Advisory Committee expired today. Following the sub-committee’s decision, the CC decided to request BAC to grant a few more days to its sub-committee to find consensus, said CC President Nilambar Acharya.
The trio will continue discussions tomorrow.
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