Kathmandu, Feb 25: The Supreme Court has given priority right to the writ petition filed by the sexual and gender minorities demanding reservation in politics. According to the apex court, priority right has been given to the petition on the grounds that the election system cannot establish the access of the sexual and gender minorities.
The order was in response to the petition filed by five people, including Maya Gurung, the president of Mayako Pahichan Nepal, a non-profit organisation established for the rights of the sexual and gender minority communities.
“Looking at the content of the presented petition, priority right has been delivered as per Rule 73 of the Supreme Court Rules 2074, as it seems that it needs to be decided quickly. Submit it as per the rules,” according to the verdict delivered by the single bench of justice Sushmalta Mathema.
Writ petition filed in the Supreme Court demanding political reservation
The bench has ordered the defendants to submit a written response through Office of the Attorney General within 15 days from the date of the notice received, excluding the time spent on journey.
The court has also asked the defendants to submit through Office of the Attorney General possible reasons why the order should not be issued according to the demand of the writ petition with proofs.
Commenting on the verdict, Sunil Babu Pant, Asia’s first openly gay former parliamentarian and the executive director for Mayako Pahichan Nepal, said the writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court against the discriminatory election act as an important part of the campaign to amend existing laws of Nepal related to the sexual and gender minority communities.
Just as reservation has been provided to listed minorities and marginalised communities, the sexual and gender minorities have demanded political reservation for themselves, he added.
Eight years into the implementation of the constitution, the presence of the sexual and gender minority communities in the federal parliament and province assembly is zero, which he observed is unfortunate.
Five people including Mayako Pahichan Nepal’s President Gurung, Vice President Debendra Bahadur Khatri (Madhu), and Secretary Surendra Pandey filed the petition in the apex court last Wednesday seeking the court’s mandamus. The writ was heard on Friday.
In the petition, defendants are Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Federal Parliament Secretariat, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and the Election Commission. According to the petition, the sexual and gender minorities have not been represented as people’s representatives through elections.
