Kathmandu. The list of cases to be debated in the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court today has been published. Led by Senior Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut, the Constitutional Bench will conduct the proceedings in the presence of Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla, Kumar Regmi, Hari Prasad Phuyal, and Dr. Manoj Kumar Sharma.
In the meantime, a writ has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking to stop the licensing process of a new stock exchange to be established with private sector investment. Advocate Krishna Bahadur Thapa filed a writ in the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, alleging that there was a policy error in the process of granting licenses to the stock exchange by the Nepal Securities Board.
The writ has named the Nepal Securities Board, the Ministry of Finance, and the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers as respondents. According to the claim, the directive issued by the Nepal Securities Board regarding the provision of recommendations by the board to establish a corporate body for the operation of the securities market, 2079, is in conflict with the provisions of Section 118 of the Nepal Securities Act, 2063 and Articles 1, 46, 162 and other provisions of the Constitution of Nepal. It has been demanded to declare the directive invalid in accordance with Articles 133910, 920 and 830 of the Constitution.
The writ petition alleges that the Nepal Securities Board has issued the directive by misinterpreting the Securities Act. Objections have been raised that the board has issued the directive and initiated the process of operating a private stock exchange on a matter that is not authorized by law. It has been alleged that the government is manipulating the issuance of stock exchange licenses to benefit certain business groups. There is strong opposition to this issue both on the streets and in Parliament. This is why the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had directed to stop the license distribution process in 2080 Baisakh.
MPs have protested, saying that it would not be appropriate to distribute new licenses to the private sector despite the existence of the Government Stock Exchange (NEPSE). The Nepal Securities Board had prepared a policy arrangement for the distribution of licenses for the new stock exchange during the tenure of former Chairman Ramesh Hamal. However, this process was started when Sher Bahadur Deuba was the Prime Minister and Janardan Sharma was the Finance Minister.
The Securities Board has amended the ‘Securities Market Operation Regulations, 2064’ to allow the private sector to invest in the stock exchange. Earlier, only banks, financial institutions and securities traders were allowed to invest in the stock market. The board has decided to increase the investment limit in the stock exchange to 15 percent, which experts argue is against international practice.
It seems that there will be further debate on whether the government will allow the private sector to operate stock exchanges. The Supreme Court’s decision is being watched with interest. The case was registered on Poush 23. The case is registered under writ number 081 / 0035.
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