Kathmandu: Nepal`s Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the swearing-in process of the Republic`s first Vice President Parmananda Jha was unconstitutional as he took
the oath of office and secrecy in Hindi, and directed him to retake the oath in Nepali.
Madhesi leader Jha, who is of Indian origin, had been
at the centre of a row last year soon after he took the oath
of office in Hindi, triggering protests in the country.
Protesters had claimed the Jha ignored Nepal’s culture by
taking the oath in Hindi.
The apex court today asked the Vice President to take
the oath of office and secrecy for the second time, the
Himalayan Times newspaper reported.
"Jha who used Hindi language while swearing-in was
against the legal provision," a division bench comprising
Chief Justice Min Badahu Rayamajhi and Justice Bal Ram KC said
in a ruling.
The verdict, which came in response to a case filed by
advocate Balkrishna Neupane, said oath-taking in Hindi could
not be taken as constitutional and that if Jha wants to
continue at his office, he needs to take the oath in Nepali.
While Nepal’s first President Ram Baran Yadav
administered the oath in Nepali, Jha, a member of the Madhesi
community who are people of Indian origin, repeated it in
Hindi. Jha´s mother tongue is Maithali, a language widely
spoken in the Indian state of Bihar.
Bureau Report
