NOV 13, 2011- KATHMANDU – As many Maoist comrades are having criminal background and some of them are elected even minister in the cabinet, Current Government has decided to pardon their cardes to free them from the alligation and agitation from public.
But The Supreme Court (SC) on Sunday ordered the government to stop the execution of its recent decision to grant amnesty to murder accused Maoist lawmaker Bal Krishna Dhungel.

After conducting the preliminary hearing on the writ seeking nullification of the Cabinet decision to appeal for presidential pardon on Dhungel’s case, a single bench of SC Justice Tahir Ali Ansari ordered to keep the case in status quo for the time being and asked both litigants and defendants to appear before the court for further hearing on November 21.

Sabitri Sherestha, Sister of the murdered Ujjan Shrestha,  had filed a writ petition at the apex court on Thursday demanding that the court stop the government from pardoning Dhungel.

On Tuesday, the Cabinet had urged President Ram Baran Yadav to pardon Dhungel invoking his special authority as per Article 151 of the Interim Constitution.

The court ruling comes amidst intense criticism at the government decision to grant amnesty to lawmaker Dhungel who was convicted of murdering Ujjan Shrestha of Okhaldhunga during Maoist insurgency.

The Okhaldhunga District Court on May 10, 2004 had convicted Dhungel of murdering Shrestha. Dhungel later moved the Rajbiraj Appellate Court, which gave him a clean chit on June 25, 2006. However, the Supreme Court on January 3, 2010 upheld the district court’s life-term verdict on Dhungel.

Opposition Parties including Nepali congress, UML and others are protesting against the cabinet decision and urging government to roleback from the current decision of pardoning Mr. Dhungel and many others.

Source: KOL