Contempt of court case filed against PM Oli

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 26

Senior Advocate Kumar Sharma Acharya and Advocate Kanchan Krishna Neupane today filed a contempt of court case against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli for his remarks against Senior Advocate Krishna Prasad Bhandari.

The PM recently mocked petitioners who had challenged the dissolution of the House of Representatives for appointing nonagenarian lawyer Bhandari to plead in their favour. The PM had said, “They have taken ‘ a grandfather lawyer’ to plead in their favour.

Why are they doing such theatrics?”

Acharya has stated that Oli’s remarks undermined the prestige of 94-year-old Bhandari, the senior-most lawyer in the country and the first president of Nepal Bar Association, the umbrella body of lawyers. The petitioner said nobody had the right to mock a lawyer for pleading in the court.

“As executive head, the PM has more responsibility to respect prevailing laws. His remarks against the senior-most lawyer Bhandari, who has played an important role in promoting the cause of the judiciary and who had defended political leaders during Panchayat regime, is contemptuous,” Acharya said.

Kanchan Krishna Ghimire stated that the PM’s remarks against Bhandari and other lawyers were contemptuous as they created obstacles in the adjudication of justice.

“The PM compared the court proceedings in HoR dissolution case to a drama.

He also said that lawyers were twisting their arguments.

The PM’s remarks are therefore contemptuous,”

Neupane said. He demanded maximum sentence against the PM as per Section 17 of the Administration of Justice Act.

Meanwhile, Advocate Raja Ram Ghimire has filed a contempt of court case against Senior Advocate and former speaker Daman Nath Dhungana for his recent remarks about HoR dissolution cases. The apex court has, however, not registered the case yet citing lack of fulfilment of court procedure.

Ghimire said Dhungana recently said if the Supreme Court failed to reinstate the HoR, it could fail the current constitution and people may unseat the justices.

He said Dhungana’s statement was against the independence of the judiciary.

 

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