High Court issues stay order over appointment of PADT executive director

KATHMANDU: The Patan High Court has issued an interim order asking the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), Governing Council to refrain from implementing its decision to appoint Laxmi Pun as the executive director of the PADT.

A division bench comprising judges Rhishiram Dawadi and Shyam Kumar Bhattarai on Sunday issued the verdict in this regard, disallowing the newly appointed PADT executive director from carrying out official duties.

Upon initial scrutiny, it was found that the academic qualifications and job experiences mentioned in Pun’s bio-data do not match with the criteria specified in the rules. Hence, the court has withheld the appointment until the matter is finally sorted out by the court.

Pun was appointed to the post by the December 20 decision of the PADT Governing Council.

It may be noted that one Bharat Marasini on January 11 moved the court against the appointment of Pun as the PADT executive director. In the writ, it has been claimed that Pun failed to meet academic qualifications and criteria for the appointment to the post.

The criteria for the appointment require a Master’s degree in any subject from a certified academic institution and a minimum of 15 years of experience as a second-class officer in the government service or an organized institution registered as per the existing law or an international organization. In case of a Bachelor’s degree, the minimum required job experience is at least 20 years.