Kathmandu – The Supreme Court has recently released the full text of the instructions given to the government to amend the National Human Rights Commission Act.

The bench of Justice Sushma Lata Mathema and Hariprasad Phuyal gave this order. Along with the order, the government has been asked to amend the National Human Rights Commission Act to make the activities of the National Human Rights Commission effective.

In the order, the government has been requested to stop recommending and appointing people who violate public human rights to constitutional bodies. It directed that action be taken against the human rights violators directly by the Attorney General as per the recommendations of the NHRC.

The directive was issued in September in response to a writ petition filed five years ago regarding non-effective implementation of the recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission. The petitioner claimed that Section 13 (3) of the Enforced Disappeared Persons Investigation, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, 2014 was in conflict with the constitutional provisions providing the functions and powers of the NHC in Article 249 of the Constitution of Nepal.

Petitioner Advocate Birendra Thapalia demanded the jurisdiction of the National Human Rights Commission to investigate the cases of human rights violations during the armed conflict.