The Supreme Court (SC) has issued an interim order to halt the implementation of the Iodized Salt (Production, Sale, and Distribution) Act, 2055 BS (1998 AD), effective from July 17, 2025.

A division bench of Justices Til Prasad Shrestha and Mahesh Sharma Paudel issued the order on July 14, noting although the Act was passed nearly 25 years ago, the regulations required for its enforcement have yet to be formulated.

In its ruling, the Court reasoned that the non-implementation of the Act is unlikely to cause significant harm, and thus issued the order in the name of the Government of Nepal and the Ministry of Health and Population.

The decision follows a writ petition filed by advocate Shital Maharjan, who challenged the enforcement of the Act in the absence of the requisite regulations for more than two decades.