Four days after the government decided to relive her of her post, Nepal´s ambassador to Qatar Maya Kumari Sharma filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court (SC) against the sacking.

Advocate Ram Chandra Poudel filed a writ petition at the apex court on behalf of Sharma on Monday, claiming that her sack by the government was illegal. Sharma has urged that the SC annul the government´s decision, stating that she was relieved of her post without any ground or reason.

The government on Thursday decided to relieve Sharma in the wake of her dilly-dallying over resignation from the post after Foreign Secretary Arjun Bahadur Thapa and UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal suggested to her last week to step down.

Sharma has also claimed that she was not even given a chance to furnish clarifications regarding the issue. Earlier, the envoy had conveyed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) that she would step down only after the government sent a formal letter in that connection.

Sharma, who was appointed ambassador under the Maoist quota in January 2012 for a term of four years, was asked by party Chairman Dahal to step down after Ambassador of Qatar to Nepal Ahmad Jasim Mohammed Ali Al Hamar requested the Nepalese authorities in writing to recall her in the interest of friendly relations between the two countries.

Sharma came into controversy for some blunt remarks that she made right after she assumed her post in January 2012. She first came into controversy for her decision to close down a hostel at the embassy premises for distressed Nepalese nationals, and later again for remarking in a television interview that Qatar was an ´open jail´ for Nepalese nationals.

Chairman of the Interim Election Council Khil Raj Regmi and his office, the president´s office and MoFA have been named as defendants in the writ petition.

Published on: 1 October 2013 | Republica