14 March 2024, Kathmandu: In a hearing on a Public Interest Litigation case filed by Basanta Gautam, the Lumbini Province Coordinator of Advocacy Forum-Nepal, along with other lawyers, the Tulsipur High Court Nepalgunj Bench issued a mandamus order against the respondents, including Duduwa Rural Municipality, on 13 March 2024, directing them to allow the operation of a school in Jayendu Child Reform Home.
The division bench comprising Tanka Prasad Gurung and Basanta Raj Poudel issued the order. The PIL was filed on 20 July 2023, requesting the court to issue an order against the respondents for violating the right to education of juveniles kept in the CRH due to the absence of an approved school.
The PIL petitioners, including Gautam, Senior Advocate Sunil Kumar Shrestha, Loka Bahadur Shah, Bal Bahadur Chand, Bishwajit Tiwari, Bikash Acharya, and Kewal Singh Tharu, argued the case. Narendra Devkota, Srijana Acharya, and others from the Nepalganj High Court Attorney’s Office represented the respondent Jayendu CRH.
Currently, Jayendu CRH houses 238 juveniles who are deprived of education due to the lack of a school.
