KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court (SC) has issued a show-cause order after a preliminary hearingson a writ petition related to the dispute within the Nepali Congress (NC), stating that constitutional and legal questions need to be adjudicated.

On Tuesday, a single bench of Justice Sunil Kumar Pokharel ordered the Election Commission (EC) and Gagan Kumar Thapa, among others, to appear for discussions, and deferred a decision on issues related to the Constitution, laws, the NC statute, and the EC’s decision until later.

With this order, the central executive committee led by Gagan Thapa has been able to function without hindrance until any further order is issued. The SC has also summoned both sides for discussions.

Amid an ongoing internal dispute within the NC, a special general convention was held recently, electing Gagan Thapa as party president. Subsequently, the EC awarded the party’s election symbol – the tree – and the four-star flag to the faction aligned with the special general convention. Challenging this, former party president Sher Bahadur Deuba filed a writ petition at the apex court, claiming that his faction was the legitimate one.

Thapa has already registered direct (first-past-the-post) candidacies for the March 5 election, incorporating Deuba and his faction. However, under the proportional representation electoral system, the NC submitted its closed list bearing Deuba’s signature to the EC.