Ruling CPN (Maoist Center) has taken exception to the Supreme Court’s (SC) order to register two writ petitions seeking arrest of its Chairman and Prime Minister (PM) Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
Maoist Center has said that the order of Justices Ishwar Khatiwada and Hari Phuyal on Friday to revoke the administration’s decision to not register the petitions brought by Kalyan Budhathoki of Ramechhap and advocate Gyanendra Aran has seriously drawn its attention.
Maoist Center General Secretary Dev Gurung issuing a statement on Sunday has said that the party rejects and condemns all kinds of activities against the Constitution and progressive achievements. It has claimed that registration of the petitions citing Dahal’s statement blatantly violates the freedom of expression granted by the Constitution and is against the basic principles of legal recourse.
It has further contended that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons have been handling conflict-era cases and stressed that no decision can be taken in a way to affect cases in the two commission’s jurisdiction.
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 SC administration had decided not to register the 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 SC 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 joint bench of Justices Ishwar Khatiwada and Hari Phuyal on Friday revoked the administration’s decision to not 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.
