Kathmandu, Nepal, November 3, 2020: A contempt of court case is registered at the Supreme Court (SC), the apex court of the country, on Monday against Minister of Health and Population Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal for allegedly defying the SC’s directive made to the government to provide diagnostic and therapeutic services to the coronavirus (COVID-19) patients free of cost.
Though advocate duos Lokendra Oli and Keshar Jung KC had attempted to file the contempt of court case making both Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Health and Population Minister Dhakal as defendants, SC officials had denied filing case against Prime Minister Oli claiming that was not named a defendant in the original case filed earlier over the issue. The case was registered after petitioners removed PM Oli’s name from the defendants’ list.
Responding to their earlier petition, the SC had directed the government to provide diagnostic and therapeutic services to the COVID-19 patients free of cost. The government, however, recently decided to charge people for diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 patients. First hearing of the case has been scheduled for Tuesday.
Likewise, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has filed a review petition on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) against the SC order passed in response to the writ petition filed by advocates Oli and KC to provide diagnostic and therapeutic services to the COVID-19 patients free of cost.
