Amid political instability after Nepal’s second largest party in Parliament withdrew its support to his government, Maoist chief and Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has faced yet another crisis — a judicial order to lodge a mass murder case against him — that may cost him his chair. The Supreme Court of Nepal Friday ordered that a criminal case, which court administration refused to entertain earlier, can be filed as a writ petition for trial.
As per sources, Gyanendra Aran and others will file writ petitions in the top court of the country, most likely on Sunday, seeking trial against Prachanda for alleged murder committed by him based on an admission the latter made publicly.
In a public speech on January 15, 2020, Prachanda had said he would take the responsibility of killing 5,000 people out of the total 17,000 deaths that occurred during the decade-long insurgency in Nepal when he was the supreme commander and chairman of the Maoist party.
A division bench of the supreme court consisting of Justice Ishwar Khatiwada and Hari Prasad Phuyal ruled that the writ seeking trial of Prachanda in the murder case should be admitted by the court.
