SC full court starts hearing on ex-ministers case

The full court of the Supreme Court started hearing on the habeas corpus writ petition filed by three ministers of the erstwhile royal regime on Thursday.

The full court comprising Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Poudel and justices Kedar Prasad Giri, Min Bahadur Rayamajhi, Ram Nagina Singh and Anup Raj Sharma heard the case filed by detained former ministers Ramesh Nath Pandey, Shrish Shumsher Rana and Nikshya Shumsher Rana.

Senior advocate Ganesh Raj Sharma and advocate Bal Krishna Neupane presented arguments from the petitioners’ side while defense attorneys are scheduled to debate in the next hearing.
The case was presented before the full court on Tuesday after a division bench of Justices Kedar Prasad Giri and Tapa Bahadur Magar failed to decide it, citing legal complexities.

The full court had deferred hearing on the case on Tuesday after the bench was divided as to whether Justice Giri could be part of it.

Former ministers Pandey and Rana-duo were arrested and sent to preventive detention on May 12 along with two other key ministers of the royal regime – Kamal Thapa and Tanka Dhakal. They had filed a habeas corpus writ on May 16, challenging the government’s decision to detain them.

The five former ministers have been handed three-month detention warrants under the Public Security Act