The Supreme Court has ordered the court administration to register two writ petitions against Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal seeking his arrest.
Addressing an event organized at Khula Manch in Kathmandu on the occasion of Maghi on January 15, 2020, Dahal had refuted allegations that he had killed 17,000 people during the decade-long Maoist armed conflict but said that he would take responsibility for the deaths of 5,000 of those killed during that period. He had also said that he would take responsibility for all the good and bad things that happened during the armed conflict.
In November 2022, the Supreme Court administration had decided not to register two petitions seeking an order to arrest Dahal on the basis of his statement.
The court administration had refused to register the petitions stating that conflict-era cases are outside the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as they would be addressed by the transitional justice mechanism.
The petitioners, Kalyan Budhathoki of Ramechhap and advocate Gyanendra Aran, had then filed an application against the decision.
Conducting a hearing on their application, a bench of justices Ishwar Khatiwada and Hari Phuyal on Friday revoked the administration’s decision to not register the petitions.
Supreme Court spokesperson Bimal Paudel told Setopati that the court has revoked the court administration’s decision and ordered it to register the petitions.
Aran and Budhathoki have stated in their petitions that they are conflict victims and that they have also filed complaints against Dahal at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
They have sought maximum punishment for Dahal and others as per the law, stating that Dahal had made a public statement taking moral responsibility for killing 5,000 people. They have also sought an interim order to arrest Dahal and move the necessary investigation process forward.
Watch the video of Dahal's address:
