Supreme Court has issued a certiorari order on the much-awaited writ petition filed against Vice Chairman of CPN (Maoist Center), Agni Prasad Sapkota, paving the way for proceeding with the case on the murder charge of Arjun Lama of Kavre.
Earlier, on June 27, 2012, the cabinet led by then Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai had decided not to proceed with the case against Vice Chairman Sapkota.
The Bhattarai government had decided to keep the murder complaint filed against Sapkota in the Kavre Police in a dormant state.
A constitutional bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut and Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla, Kumar Regmi, Manoj Kumar Sharma and Kumar Chudal on Wednesday revived the writ after 14 years.
An accusation has it that a group of Maoist insurgents had kidnapped Arjun Lama, then chairman of Shree Krishna Secondary School Management Committee and local businessman on April 29, 2005.
Purni Maya Lama, the spouse of Arjun, had filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court against Maoist Center leaders Agni Sapkota, Surya Man Dong, Yadav Paudel, Bhola Aryal, Karnakhar Gautam, Norbu Moktan alleging that they were involved in the murder of her husband.
Since the Supreme Court issued the certiorari order as per the writ filed by Purna Maya, the police now can initiate the case as per the criminal judicial procedure, said advocate Purhspa Raj Paudel.
On Wednesday, during the constitutional bench hearing, advocates Dinesh Tripathi, Raju Prasad Chapagain, and other legal professionals argued on behalf of the writ petitioners. They demanded that Sapkota be immediately arrested and prosecuted in court, as the charges against him involved a serious criminal offense akin to murder. They accused authorities of denying justice to the victim by abusing their position and power, and claimed that the police had deliberately stalled the investigation, obstructing justice.
Following this, Sapkota’s lawyers—Raman Kumar Shrestha, Mukti Pradhan, Dinmani Pokharel, and others—countered the arguments. They argued that this case was related to the insurgency period and had a political nature, so it should be resolved through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
On behalf of the government, Deputy Attorney General Lok Raj Parajuli stated that the complaint against Sapkota was still valid and suggested that the matter should be concluded through the TRC. "The complaint is still active. Transitional justice mechanisms have already been established. Now, this issue falls under the jurisdiction of the TRC and should be handled by it," he said.
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