Kathmandu, September 3:

Government lawyers today called the Supreme Court (SC) to send back the case of Charles Gurmukh Sobhraj to the Kathmandu District Court (KDC), claiming that the evidences supporting the case needed to be re-examined before issuing a final verdict on his appeal.

The government lawyers were answering the questions raised by the defence lawyers during the course of the final hearing on the case.

A division bench of Justices Min Bahadur Rayamajhi and Kalyan Shrestha has been examining the case for the last two months.

“The lower courts did not properly examine the evidences in a case related to fake passport possession (in which Sobhraj was acquitted) though the evidences were also related to the murder case in which he was convicted,” said deputy Government Attorney Brajesh Pyakurel.

Answering the judges’ queries on whether the apex court could re-examine the evidences, Pyakurel said it could if it felt the need for it. He said the SC could send the case back to the district court if needed. “It will not be possible for the apex court to examine the evidences as it is the duty of district court,” he added.

The KDC did not properly check the evidences while issuing clean chit to Sobhraj for possessing fake passport, Pyakurel said, adding: “The Patan Appellate Court upheld the KDC’s verdict in the same manner.”

Saying that foreigners including Herman Knippenberg, Kristy, John and Gills Carriere were ready to provide witness information about Sobhraj’s visit to Nepal, Pyakurel said the court could consult them through video-conferencing in connection with the

murder case.

He said another witness David Willmouth was in contact with the Interpol and had been assisting the investigation. Deputy Attorney General Tika Bahadur Hamal claimed that Sobhraj had signed his original signature while visiting Nepal in the name of Henicus Bintanja. “That is why he cannot escape the sentence,” Hamal added.

“Sobhraj’s main plea is that he didn’t visit Nepal in 1975. But he has recorded statement in an Indian court that he had visited Nepal at that time,” Hamal added.