KATHMANDU: Stating that Lieutenant General Toran Jung Bahadur Singh has not been convicted in human rights violation cases, the Supreme Court today upheld his promotion.

Vacating its earlier stay order, a division bench of Justices Ram Prasad Shrestha and Top Bahadur Magar temporarily upheld the promotion. The bench, however, said it would conduct a final hearing on February 21 and decide whether or not to scrap the decision of the Council of Ministers passed on December 24 promoting Singh.

The bench said it found no grounds to stop the promotion that has already been made.

The bench also noted that there were no cases filed against him when he was promoted to a Major General on March 20, 2007. “After the execution of the decision, the promotion committee has already passed other decisions promoting other officers,” the bench observed.

The bench added that the apex court did not receive any official copy of the decision regarding punishment against Singh and said the Bhairavnath barracks under his command had issued circulars to subordinate barracks to take action against human rights violators during his leadership.

The bench also observed that the writ petitioners did not name Gen Singh while filing a writ petition on human rights violation in the Bhairavnath Battalion on July 27, 2006 and seeking action against the rights violators. The petitioners had only accused former Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Pyar Jung Thapa and other officials Raju Basnet, Bibek Bista, Indibur Rana and Dilip Rayamajhi of disappearing 49 persons.

Responding to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Unified CPN-Maoist central member Krishna KC and cadres Himal Sharma and Bina Magar, the Chief Justice had issued a stay order on January 3.

A two-member bench had extended the stay order twice after it began hearing on whether or not to continue the stay order.

The petitioners have claimed that Gen Singh meted out “cruel and inhumane” torture to detainees in the Bhairavnath battalion, including the writ petitioners. They also said that the United Nations Office of

the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the National Human Rights Commission had suggested action

against Gen Sing and other indicted army officers.