Supreme Court Division Bench
Hon’ble Justice Bala Ram K.C.
Hon’ble Justice Tapa Bahadur Magar
Order
Writ No. 3581 of the year 2062 B.S.
Sub: Mandamus
Advocate Pun Devi Maharjan ‘Sujana’, a resident of Lalitpur Sub-metropolis
Ward No. 2, Sanepa ................................................................................ 1 Petitioner
Vs.
Govt. of Nepal, Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers,
Kathmandu … ........................................................................................1
Govt. of Nepal, Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, Kathmandu
................................................................................................................1 Respondents
Govt. of Nepal, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Management,
Kathmandu ………… .....................................................................……1
Govt. of Nepal, Ministry of Education and Sports, Kathmandu Govt. of Nepal,
Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Kathmandu .1National Women’s
Commission, Kathmandu ……………...............……................................1
Bala Ram K.C. J: The facts and the decision of the present writ petition lodged as per
Art. 88(2) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1990 are as follows:
Facts of the Petition:
The custom of Kumari (Virgin Goddess) is believed to have continued in Nepal since the
Middle Ages. The custom of Kumari enjoys special significance in the cultural and religious
history of Nepal. The historical facts have shown that eleven Newar girls are worshipped
as living Goddesses, four of whom reside in Kathmandu, three in Bhaktapur, two in Patan
and one each in Devpatan and Bungamati. Among them, the Kumari of Basantpur (who is
called a princess because she is worshipped by the King), the Kumari of Patan, the Akant
Kumari of Bhaktapur and the Kumari of Bungamati are some of the more famous Kumaris.
The comparative position of the various Kumaris is as follows:
Kumari of Basantpur: The Kumari of Basantpur is worshipped daily in the morning.
Food is cooked separately for her. She is entitled to play for a certain time with the children
of the Kumari house. She is required to give ‘darshan’ to some ten to twelve devotees
every day. She is taught daily all the subjects of her class for three hours by one of the lady
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