Sikkim govt reacts to Bhaichung’s SC alert

 Bhutia with others sought to delete words like 'foreigners' and 'migrants' used to describe Sikkimese Nepali community

Bhaichung Bhutia: File picture

Rajeev Ravidas   |   TT  |  Siliguri   |  29.01.23 : The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) government will explore the possibility of filing a review petition in the Supreme Court, seeking to delete words like “foreigners” and “migrants” used to describe Sikkimese Nepali community in one of its recent judgments.

A day after Bhaichung Bhutia’s Hamro Sikkim Party and K. B. Rai-headed Sikkim Republican Party flagged the issue, Jacob Khaling, the SKM spokesman and political secretary to chief minister P.S. Tamang (Golay), said on Saturday that their government had initiated steps to get the remarks of the Supreme Court expunged from its order.

“…a review Petition has to be filed within 30 days from the judgment or order of which review is sought and must be placed before the same Bench which had delivered the decision. Therefore, it was decided to explore the possibility of filing a review petition for the same,” said Khaling, while quoting the SC rule book.

Delivering its judgment on January 13 extending Income Tax exemption to the Indian-origin old settlers of Sikkim, the bench of Justices M. R. Shah and B. V. Nagarathna had in one instance referred to the Sikkimese Nepalis as “persons of foreign origin settled in Sikkim…” and “Nepalese migrants” in another.    

“It appears that the aforesaid error has crept into the judgment due to the Hon’ble Judges inadvertently ignoring the fact that all such references and other similar references made by the petitioner, i.e. the Association of Old Settlers, were deleted by way of an ‘Application for Amendment of the Writ Petition’ filed by the petitioner on dt. 31.07.2013 and which was allowed by the Hon’ble Apex Court vide Order dt. 02.08.2013,” a press release by Khaling read.

Flagging the apex court remarks, both HSP and SRP on Friday had said the only solution to permanently address the identity crisis faced by the Nepali-speaking Sikkimese was to restore the reservation of Nepali seats in the Sikkim Assembly that had been abolished in 1979.

Prior to 1979, both before and after the merger of Sikkim with India in 1975, 16 seats each were reserved for the Nepali-speaking community and the Bhutia and Lepcha (BL) communities in the 32-member Assembly. After the abolition if Nepali seats, 12 seats have been reserved for the BL communities, two for Scheduled Castes, and one for sangha, an outfit of monks.

The SKM, however, was silent on the fresh demand to restore Nepali seats, a pledge it made during the 2019 Assembly polls.

Khaling said the SKM held a meeting of its central executive and district executive committees in Gangtok on Friday where Golay, also party chief, had given a detailed briefing on the issue.

Courtesy & source- The Telegraph