KATHMANDU, Sep 4: A legal case has been lodged at the Patan High Court, urging action against Pradeep Adhikari, the Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).
The petition contends that CAAN's decision to ban air flights at airports in remote districts resulted in disrupted air services and the loss of lives among the local citizens. On July 28, CAAN had enforced several measures, including a ban on air flights after 12:30 PM at 29 airports across the country.
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Advocate Ganesh Bahadur Oli filed the writ petition on Sunday, seeking a directive to take action against the decision-maker. It is alleged that the suspension of air flights led to the tragic death of a child in Humla. The petition mentions the case of Imran Sunar, a six-month-old infant from Humla's Simkot Rural Municipality-6, who reportedly passed away as he could not be taken to a sophisticated health facility due to the flight suspension.
Following widespread public outcry and the National Human Rights Commission's attention to the incident, CAAN rescinded the decision. Advocate Oli has also submitted documents from the Humla district health office, where the deceased child had been admitted, referred, and eventually lost his life as he could not be transferred to a well-equipped hospital. The writ petition seeks an injunction and an appropriate order against the decision-maker.
The writ petition further calls for an end to the biased practice of operating flights from Nepalgunj in Lumbini Province instead of Surkhet, the provincial capital of Karnali Province, for the mountain and hill districts of Karnali Province. This practice is viewed as being contrary to the principles of federalism.
In addition to Director General Adhikari, the writ names CAAN and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation as defendants.
