[tankenmate]

If Mercantile run the SRS (Shared Registry Service) for .np, then that is a choice of the state of Nepal not ICANN. The government of Nepal appoints a registry (typically a company, sometimes a university or communications arm of the government), and in the case of smaller countries the registry appoints a technical provider to run the technology side of the registry; i.e. the SRS.

Another point to consider is that the policy of having to show up in person may be a policy dictated by the government and/or the registry, not necessarily the SRS provider or the registrar.