Kathmandu, November 18:

The Supreme Court today upheld an order of the Kathmandu District Court (KDC) to detain an accused in the Bibek Luitel murder case, Sakhina Manandhar alias Sabina, to proceed the case

further.

A division bench of justices Min Bahadur Rayamajhi and Pawan Kumar Ojha issued an order to this effect following a hearing. Fearing reprisals from cadres of the Young Communist League, not a single lawyer defended Sabina in the court.

All the accused, including Sakhina, have been kept in jail awaiting a court decision. The KDC had jailed them to proceed the Bibek murder case under Section 118 of the Court Management Chapter of the Civil Code, 1963.

The KDC had remanded judicial custody to other accused in the case, Bhikhari Khan, Okil Ansari, Pappu Mandal and Pateni Palten Lama.