Nepal

Kathmandu, August 2

The Office of the Attorney General today filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against the latterrecent verdict that rules against invoking Banking Offence and Punishment Act-2008 for cheque-bounce cases, said Spokesperson for OAG Sanjiv Raj Regmi.

A division bench of justices Dambar Bahadur Shahi and Kumar Regmi issued this ruling in a case filed by the government against Nirmala Sodari, a resident of Kailali district. The SC delivered its verdict a June 24. The SC said since Negotiable Instruments Act-1977, incorporated comprehensive provisions related to cheque bounce cases, adjudication of such cases should be based under NIA and not BOPA. If the precedent set by the SC applies to all similar cases, cheque bounce cases will not be a criminal case where the government will be the plaintiff.

Under existing provisions, the affected party may file an FIR at the police office under Government Case Act following which the police can arrest the accused and carry out investigation.

Remgi said that the SC verdict was not inconsistent with the its past precedents where it had once said that in a case where two laws could be invoked, then the latest law should be accorded priority. BOPA is the latest law to govern issues of bounced cheques. Regmi said BOPA incorporated adequate provisions to ensure justice for victims and deterrence against erring parties.

He said if cheque bounce issues were not addressed by BOPA, then it could adversely affect the banking system.

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Kathmandu, August 2

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has directed all district coordination committees and local levels to refrain from sending jumbo teams of office bearers and employees on foreign junkets.

A circular issued by Development Assistance Coordination Section of the MoFAGA yesterday asked them to comply with directives on foreign visit of office-bearers and employees of local levels approved by the Council of Ministers on September 21 last year. The directives prohibit elected representatives and employees of local levels from going on foreign junkets at the expense of federal, provincial or local governments, unless necessary.

The MoFAGA said it issued the circular to curb the trend among office bearers of requesting various non-government organisations and individuals abroad, to invite them for foreign trips.

Some local levels were found submitting proposals to the MoFAGA for foreign visits that didn&t benefit them at all and had large number of members in the proposed delegation. &No more than three persons shall be allowed in a delegation for a foreign visit though it is fully sponsored by concerned organiser,& the circular read.

If there is no sponsor for a foreign junket required to be made by a local level official for obtaining technical and other skills, a proposal for a delegation consisting of up to two persons may be submitted at the MoFAGA. &Local levels are requested to refrain from submitting a proposal for a foreign visit that is not beneficial to the government from financial and technical perspectives,& it stated. The circular aimed to regulate foreign junkets of officials and staffers at local level.

The MoFAGA introduced the directives governing foreign visits of local level office bearers and officials as foreign affairs were under jurisdiction of the federal government. There are 753 local levels and 77 district coordination committees in the country. As per the directives, local level office bearers, before embarking on a foreign trip, are required to submit all the documents citing valid reasons for their trip. After the trip, they have to submit observation report to the MoFAGA.

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Dhankuta, August 2

Transportation Management Office in Dhankuta has failed to deliver effective services to service seekers due to lack of resources and infrastructure.

The office, which was set up in a bid to provide easy and quick services to public, failed to deliver services for want of infrastructure. Chief at the office Ishwor Thapa said it was very difficult to deliver effective services due to poor management of human resource. &There are eight staffers at the office, but their jobs and responsibilities have not been defined properly,& he added.

The office only provides services such as vehicle registration, renewal, issuing route permits and collecting tax. Thapa said the office had not been able to conduct written tests and driving tests for issuing driving licences due to lack of resource and adequate space for conducting driving tests. He said service seekers from Dhankuta, Tehrathum, Shankuwashabha and Bhojpur were compelled to reach Itahari-based transportation office after the office could not provide all the services.

Chief Minister of Province 1 Sher Dhan Rai had inaugurated the office three months ago. He had committed to providing all types of transportation related services from Dhankuta.

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Kathmandu, August 2

Despite police action cabbies continue to cheat passengers by charging non-metered fare arbitrarily, in Kathmandu valley.

Metropolitan Traffic Police Division said it took action against 191 rogue taxi drivers over a period of one week and that the enforcement agency had stepped up action against unscrupulous cabbies after they showed no sign of adherence to traffic laws and rules.

Traffic personnel, both in uniform and civvies, have been deployed in busy areas, including hospitals and bus parks to monitor rule violations like operating taxis without mandatory seal on fare-metre, refusal to provide short distance service to passengers, tampering with and using dysfunctional meters, and bargaining for non-metred rates.

Traffic police have been keeping a close watch on taxis in daytime and at night whenever they try to fleece passengers taking advantage of emergencies and non-availability of public vehicles, said MTPD In-charge Basant Kumar Pant. He warned that crackdown would be continued as a campaign.

Over 9,000 out of around 10,500 taxis registered with Transport Management Office are operating in the valley. According to MTPD, more than 11,000 cabbies were booked for bargaining with passengers on fare, refusing to provide short distance services, tampering with fare-meters and overcharging, since 6 December 2018. Most of the cabbies were repeat offenders.

MTPD said anyone may call the traffic control room (103) or send SMS to 9851295100 or file a complaint through MTPDFacebook page for action against dishonest taxi drivers. Cabbies who refuse to serve passengers by turning on fare-meter are referred to the Transport Management Office for action and are fined Rs 2,000 each. If a taxi driver is found operating with a tampered meter, the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology may impose on him/her a fine of up to Rs 5,000, along with a warning.

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