Kathmandu, Apr 19 (PTI) Nepal's Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the government’s decision to suspend Central Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari,
Kathmandu, Apr 19 (PTI) Nepal’s Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the government’s decision to suspend Central Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, amidst reports that the move was triggered due to his differences with Finance Minister Janardhan Sharma.
A single bench of Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal issued a short-term interim order urging the government not to implement its decision to suspend Governor Adhikari.
The government had suspended him a couple of weeks ago amidst his tussle with Finance Minister Sharma, saying he did not perform his duty even as the country was heading towards a big economic crisis.
The apex court has also asked the government to furnish reasons behind its decision to suspend the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor during the next hearings. The court has also ordered both the parties to be present to initiate discussion on the issue.
Adhikari was appointed as Nepal’s 17th governor on April 6, 2020 under the previous regime headed by former prime minister K P Sharma Oli.
This was only the second instance that a sitting governor, who enjoys a five-year tenure, was suspended.
According to sources, differences had emerged between Adhikari and Sharma in the wake of the dwindling forex reserves and the current state of Nepal’s economy.
Earlier this month, the NRB announced a ban on the import of vehicles and other luxury items, citing liquidity crunch and declining foreign exchange reserves.
Since July 2021, Nepal has seen a decline in forex reserves due to the surging imports, declining inflows of remittance and meagre earnings from tourism and exports.
By February 2022, the Himalayan country’s gross forex reserves had decreased 17 per cent to USD 9.75 billion from USD 11.75 billion in mid-July 2021, according to central bank figures.
The forex reserves are now only enough to sustain the import of goods and services for 6.7 months, below the central bank’s target for at least seven months. PTI SBP CSP AKJ CPS
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