Supreme Court quashes national ID as the sole basis for identifying bank customers

Court orders banking services on other documents until a customer has the card

A joint bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Meghraj Pokharel issued the order on Friday, Asoj 23 (October 9), Republica reported. It was first reported on Saturday.

The order is narrow. It quashes one provision of Nepal Rastra Bank's Unified Directive, 2082, and only as far as that provision made the card or its number the sole basis for identifying a customer, Nagarik and OnlineKhabar reported, quoting the order.

A second order tells the respondents to provide banking services on the citizenship certificate and other identity documents until a person obtains the card or its number, Bizshala reported from a copy of the order. There are five respondents: three government bodies, Nepal Rastra Bank and Nepal Investment Mega Bank, according to Republica. The court also gave a directive order to move ahead with a separate data protection law, Kendrabindu and Newskarobar reported. Neither gives a deadline.

Advocate Sarita Adhikari brought the case. Her petition said the card requirement made it hard to update customer details or change a mobile number and kept many people from using their own accounts, older people and people with disabilities among them, Republica and Merolagani reported.

The reports read for this digest carry no response from the central bank.

Why it matters: Under the directive, account holders who have a card were to update their bank records with the card or its number by the end of Asoj, Setopati and ShareSansar reported in July. Asoj ends on October 17. None of the reports says whether that deadline still stands.

E-passport supplier sets a third payment deadline

Muehlbauer, the German firm running Nepal's e-passport system, has set a third deadline, Monday, for a first payment of about Rs 300 million and may suspend services, The Kathmandu Post reported. Officials are reluctant to pay while a corruption case is before the Special Court.

Telecom regulator says internet charges have not increased

The Nepal Telecommunications Authority said internet charges have not increased and that it has received no proposal from providers to raise them, The Himalayan Times reported. Providers who charge more than approved rates will face action, it warned.

Prithvi Highway reopens at Galaundi and an old bridge closes on the Mahendra Highway

The Prithvi Highway at Galaundi in Dhading came back into use on Saturday night, after crews cut into the hillside along 160 metres, the infrastructure development minister said, according to OnlineKhabar. The road had subsided there on Friday evening, The Kathmandu Post reported.

The Department of Roads planned one-way traffic from 9 pm on Saturday. Its notice aims for two-way traffic by 6 pm on Sunday if the weather holds, Ratopati reported.

On the Mahendra Highway, the old Lokaha bridge in Nawalpur sagged in the middle on Saturday evening, district police chief Yubaraj Khadka said, according to The Kathmandu Post. It is closed. Vehicles are using the new bridge at the same site, the Road Division Office in Bharatpur said, in an OnlineKhabar report posted early on Sunday.

Why it matters: Dashain began on Sunday. Officials expect around 1 million people to leave the Kathmandu Valley by road for the festival, The Kathmandu Post reported on Thursday.

Besisahar-Chame road project asks for Rs 1 billion to rebuild after floods

The Besisahar-Chame road project has asked for Rs 1 billion to rebuild sections and bridges damaged by floods and landslides, and separately for the Rs 3 billion a full upgrade would cost, the RSS news agency reported, as carried by OnlineKhabar. No approval is reported.