KATHMANDU, MARCH 7

Two writ petitions have been filed against CPN-Maoist Centre Chair and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and others at the Supreme Court seeking to arrest and punish him for saying that he could take responsibility only for 5,000 Maoist insurgency-era deaths, not 17,000.

Advocate Gyanendraraj Aaran and Kalyan Budhathoki and others have filed writ petitions against Dahal for claiming responsibility for 5,000 Maoist insurgency-era deaths three years ago. There are 16 petitioners in the case filed by Aran and others, and eight petitioners in the case filed by Budhathoki and others.

The first hearing of the two cases have been scheduled for Thursday, according to Spokesperson for the SC Bimal Paudel.

In the petition filed by 15 people, including Advocate Aaran, petitioners have demanded that the court order Dahal's arrest and punish him for owning responsibility for 5,000 deaths. The petitioners moved the top court after a division bench of the SC comprising justices Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada and Hari Prasad Phuyal, on March 4, ordered the court administration, which had earlier attached refusal order, to admit the two writ petitions.

Fifteen petitioners who claim to be conflict victims, have stated in their writ petition that Dahal took responsibility for 5,000 deaths and said that the state should take responsibility for 12,000 insurgency era deaths.

They said that not owning up responsibility for other incidents such as hostage taking, rape, displacement, forceful eviction, enforced disappearances, maiming and putting people in concentration camps during the Maoist insurgency was ironical. Petitioners said Dahal should own up responsibility for all incidents - loss of lives and property during the conflict as it was the then CPN-Maoist that had started it.

They said they had lodged complaints against Dahal as well at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He said Dahal's statement on 15 January 2020 that he could be blamed for only 5,000 deaths was a confession and it was enough evidence to punish him.

The petitioners said the CPN-MC violated international humanitarian law and Article 3 of the Geneva convention by killing people during the insuring the insurgency. They said Dahal's statement taking responsibility for killing 5,000 people was a challenge to the rule of law and hence, he should be immediately arrested and punished under the prevailing laws.

They stated that the Supreme Court had set a precedent whereby amnesty could not be granted for killing individuals if victims' families did not forgive the perpetrators. They also argued that if Dahal was not punished for his confession, it would give rise to impunity. Therefore, the court should order the concerned agencies to admit the FIR filed against Dahal, the petition demanded. They have also urged the court to seek authentic data on insurgency-era deaths and deliver justice to the victims.

'Dahal's statement taking responsibility for 5,000 deaths amounts to a confession'

A version of this article appears in the print on March 8, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.