Kathmandu, July 25

The Supreme Court has ordered the Judicial Council to take action against three judges of Pokhara High Court for passing orders in a case that was not under their jurisdiction.

Those Pokhara High Court Judges who will face JC action include Jiwan Hari Adhikari, Nara Bahadur Shahi and Ramchandra Yadav. The order was passed by a single bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana yesterday.

According to Information Officer of the Supreme Court Devendra Dhakal, the SC stayed the interim order passed by the single and division benches of Pokhara High Court and ordered the Judicial Council to take action against the three judges for acting beyond their jurisdiction in a case filed by Gorkha Brewery against the imposition of excise duty by a Bharatpur based Inland Revenue Office.

A single bench of Pokhara High Court Ram Chandra Yadav first issued an interim order in the case which was endorsed by the division bench of Jiwan Hari Adhikari and Nara Bahadur Shahi. Rana’s bench stayed the interim order passed by Pokhara High Court.

A SC source said Gorkha Brewery should have registered its writ petition at Patan High Court or its Hetauda bench, which falls under Province 3, but it filed its case at Pokhara High Court, which falls under  Gandaki province.

Bharatpur Inland Revenue Office had challenged the Pokhara High Court’s order in the SC, arguing the High Court’s order was erroneous as it had acted beyond its jurisdiction. The SC is yet to prepare the written text of its order.