Nepal, July 1 -- This has been a season of controversies in Parliament. While the amendment to the Citizenship Act and the updating of Nepal's political map dominated public discourse, a sinister plan to curb individual freedom of citizens through another bill unfolded quietly in Parliament. Having made it way through the Upper House, the Nepal Special Service Bill has now been stuck in the Lower House. Among other things, the bill has a provision that allows intelligence officials to intrude into the privacy of any individual in the country without seeking permission from the court.

As per Clause 10 of the bill, 'audio or audiovisual conversations at the individual or institutional level that are suspicious can be kept under surveillanc...