Kathmandu: The Supreme Court has directed the government not to enforce the mandatory use of English-language embossed number plates on vehicles.
A joint bench of Justices Kumar Regmi and Mahesh Sharma Paudel issued the order, instructing authorities to refrain from implementing the notice issued by the Department of Transport Management on September 19, 2025.
The decision to make embossed number plates compulsory had been taken earlier under the leadership of former Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Devendra Dahal. Advocate Ram Bahadur Rawal had challenged the move by filing a writ petition at the Supreme Court.
The court recalled that on December 13, 2019, it had ordered the government to ensure that both letters and numbers on embossed number plates be written in the Nepali language. Following that verdict, the Language Commission had also urged the government to use Devanagari script on such plates.
In its interim order issued on Sunday, the Supreme Court said the directive was issued in the interest of convenience and balance, and ordered that the decision of the ministerial committee and the department’s notice not be enforced for the time being.
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