SC order into scribe`s murder case violates constitution: PM

Kathmandu: Nepalese Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has said the Supreme Court order to investigate and prosecute war era cases within the regular justice system violated the principle of basic structure of the Constitution, days after being slapped with a contempt case over his alleged intervention in the murder probe of a journalist.

"Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) is the basic structure of the Interim Constitution, so going against the CPA to punish one is going against the constitution," Bhattarai said in a statement. He also said that amending the basic structure of the Constitution was unconstitutional and would be null and void as he underlined that such an amendment would be against the very basic principle of the Constitution. Issuing an interim order, the apex court had directed the government and Attorney General Mukti Narayan Pradhan not to obstruct the justice dispensation process in relation to journalist Dekendra Thapa`s murder case. Pradhan had filed his petition seeking to vacate the stay order on Friday, while the Bhattarai`s petition was sent back referring to technical errors. With the correction, Bhattarai yesterday forwarded his separate petition requesting to vacate its January 15 order and allow the government to take its own course to deal with such cases through transitional justice system as provisioned by the Interim Constitution. Bhattarai also claimed that the apex court interpretation of transitional justice was wrong and suggested that the SC interpret the main law of the land keeping in mind the spirit of Article 5.2.5 of the CPA, which requires that war era cases be dealt with through a transitional mechanism. He also sought court order to quash the writ petition filed by human rights advocate Govinda Sharma Bandi stating that investigating and prosecuting war era cases was not only against the interim constitution but also against international practice. PTI