Supreme Court issues show-cause notice against Nepal govt’s trade deal with India

The Supreme Court has issued a show-cause notice against the government regarding the recently signed long-term power trade deal with India.

A single bench of SC Justice Nahakul Subedi on recently issued the notice against the Power Trade Agreement (PTA) reached between Nepal and India during Indian Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar’s recent visit to Nepal, informed Ved Prasad Upreti, spokesperson at the Supreme Court.

The Apex Court’s notice was in response to a writ filed by former secretary of the Government of Nepal Surya Nath Upadhyay. Upadhyay, also a member of the Nepal-India Eminent Persons’ Group, has underscored the need to endorse the bilateral agreement through parliament. In the show-cause notice, the top court has asked the government to clarify issues, including whether the agreement is related to the distribution of natural resources and their utilization, and whether it requires endorsement by a majority of parliament members. The SC has also called for hearings from both sides to decide whether to issue interim orders or not. The court has asked representatives from both sides to be present at its office for discussion by January 6, according to Upreti. During the Joint Commission meeting between the two countries on January 4, India reached an agreement with Nepal to purchase 10,000 MW of electricity from Nepal in the next 10 years. The bilateral understanding on electricity trade was reached during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”s visit to India from May 31 to June 3, 2023. During the visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed India’s commitment to long-term electricity purchase from Nepal.