The Supreme Court (SC) will give its verdict in the petition against the government’s decision to grant presidential clemency to Yograj Dhakal (Regal) on Thursday.
The full bench including Acting Chief Justice Ishwore Prasad Khatiwada, and Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Kumar Chudal has decided to issue the verdict on Thursday after both the sides completed making their arguments on Wednesday, according to SC Spokesperson Bhadrakali Pokharel.
Regal Dhakal was released from Tulsipur Prison on the occasion of Constitution Day on September 20 after President Ram Chandra Paudel granted him clemency on the government’s recommendation.
Dhakal’s gang had killed Chetan Manandhar in Nepalgunj on July 13, 2015. A bench of the then Banke District Court Judge Bishnu Subedi in April 2019 had slapped a life term on Dhakal to go with confiscation of all his properties. It had also slapped jail terms ranging from three years to 10 years on 12 others involved in Dhakal’s killing.
Chetan’s wife Bharati Manandhar had moved the SC after Dhakal’s release.
Hearing the petition filed by Bharati, a bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma had earlier ordered the defendants to furnish a written response by 5 PM, October 11. The bench had also ordered that the hearing on the petition be given top priority and set the final hearing on the petition by a full bench for October 12 but it could not be heard that day.
The bench had also ruled that Attorney General Din Mani Pokharel should come to defend the government's decision during the final hearing.
