Kathmandu, July 4:

The Supreme Court today issued show cause notices to the government authorities on a demand of a writ petitioner to bar former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Pyar Jung Thapa and four other army officials from going abroad.

A single bench of Justice Top Bahadur Magar was responding to a writ petition filed by former vice-president of the Maoist-affiliated students’ union, ANNISU-R, Krishna KC, yesterday. The bench told the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Ministries of Home, Defence and Foreign Affairs, the Police Headquarters, the Human Rights Cell of Army headquarters, the National Human Rights Commission to submit affidavits within 15 days.

The petitioner demanded that the Supreme Court issue a mandamus order to the government authorities to bar the former army chief and the four officials from going abroad. The petitioner claimed that the former army chief and the army officials were accused of torturing detainees during the royal regime and the state of emergency clamped by former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. According to the petitioner, the army officials had tortured 49 Maoist detainees and spirited them away.

KC demanded that the passports of Thapa and army officers Raju Basnet, Bibek Bista, Indibar Rana and Dilip Rayamajhi be seized.