Digital Rights Weekly/ Year 3 Issue 35

Supreme Court Halts Implementation of Requiring National Identity Card for Public Services
The Supreme Court of Nepal has issued an interim order preventing the enforcement of government order that mandates the submission of a national identity card instead of a citizenship certificate to access government and non-government services. The order was issued by a joint bench of Justices Dr. Manoj Kumar Sharma and Til Prasad Shrestha.
The interim order suspends the requirement to submit a national identity card or national identity number in place of a Nepali citizenship certificate when seeking public services from government agencies, institutions, and the private sector. The court specifically stayed the use of the word “substitute” as written in the gazette, stating that the national identity card should not be made mandatory for accessing public services.
The court’s decision was based on concerns that enforcing this rule would deprive citizens of essential public services if they do not possess a national identity card, even if they have a valid Nepali citizenship certificate. The interim order will remain in effect until a final decision is reached on the matter.
The writ petition was filed by Advocate Ram Bahadur Raut against the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Digital Rights Weekly is a week-based update on Digital Rights and ICT issues, that happened throughout the week, compiled and analyzed from the digital rights perspective by Digital Rights Nepal (DRN). DRN is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to the protection and promotion of digital rights, including the right to online freedom of expression and association, online privacy, access to information, and related issues such as internet governance, cyber laws/policies, and cyber securities in Nepal.