Nepal

Imprison Bal Krishna Dhungel, Supreme Court writes to PM

Imprison Bal Krishna Dhungel, Supreme Court writes to PM

By THT Online

UCPN-Maoist leader Bal Krishna Dhungel. Photo: THT/ File

KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court Registrar Nrip Dhoj Niraula today wrote a letter to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal urging him to arrest former lawmaker Bal Krishna Dhungel and to make him serve the remaining jail term. Dhungel is associated with the PM’s party, the CPN Maoist Centre. Dhungel was convicted of the murder of Ujjan Kumar Shrestha, a resident of his home district of Okhaldhunga. Dhungel, who spent almost eight years in prison during the trial of the case, is yet to serve the sentence of almost 12 and half years. The Registrar wrote in the letter that the Judgement Execution Directorate of the SC and the Okhaldhunga District Court repeatedly wrote to the Okhaldhunga District Police Office, the Police Headquarters and the Ministry of Home Affairs urging them to execute the SC’s verdict that convicted Dhungel of murder. The SC had convicted Dhungel of murder on January 3, 2010. The SC said in its letter that it was the responsibility of security agencies including Nepal Police to execute judgements and it was also a responsibility of the convict to serve jail time and pay fine as per the verdicts. “Non-execution of the Supreme Court’s verdicts is beyond imagination in a democratic system where there is the rule of law,” the SC said in its letter. Stating that the Ministry of Home Affairs had the responsibility to arrest the convict and make him/her serve the jail sentence, the SC commented that the exchange of letters made between MoHA and Nepal Police and between the District Police Office and the Nepal Police and those communications appeared to have taken place for mere formalities. The Registrar said, in reality, these bodies responsible for executing the judgements were made indifferent. He stated that Dhungel made contemptuous remarks against the SC and the justices who delivered the verdict in his case at a programme reportedly held in Sainpu of Ramechhap district on March 12 and the remarks were posted on YouTube and Facebook. He stated that Dhungel’s remarks created a security threat for judiciary’s leadership and were thus a matter of grave worry for the judiciary and service seekers. The SC, hence, urged the PM to immediately arrest Dhungel and make him serve the remaining jail sentence. Advocate Dinesh Tripathi on Wednesday had filed a contempt of court case against Dhungel claiming that he had issued threats to the Chief Justice and former Chief Justices Kalyan Shrestha and Khil Raj Regmi.