Verdict hearing scheduled for former Speaker Sapkota's case

Kathmandu, September 25 — A hearing date has been set to announce the verdict in the case against former Speaker and spokesperson of the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Centre) Agni Sapkota. The Constitutional Bench has scheduled the verdict for Wednesday. This case, which has been repeatedly postponed, may go back to hearing if a decision is not announced today.

Chief Justice Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha is set to retire on October 6, so the verdict must be delivered today. If the decision is postponed again, the Constitutional Bench will need to set a new hearing date with different judges.

The hearing date was set after the arguments were concluded. The writ petition filed regarding the murder accusation of Arjun Lama from Kavre was last scheduled for hearing on June 6.

Although a date was previously set for the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court to deliver a decision after hearing arguments from both sides, various reasons have prevented the verdict from being issued.

In this case, a panel of five judges, including the Chief Justice, heard the arguments, and therefore this bench is responsible for delivering the verdict. On June 6, the panel, which included Chief Justice Shrestha, Prakashman Singh Raut, Sapna Pradhan Malla, Prakash Kumar Dhungana, and Kumar Regmi, had completed the hearing and set the decision date for June 26.

In 2012, the wife of Arjun Lama, Purnimaya Lama, filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court demanding an investigation against Sapkota and other leaders for the alleged murder. There are three writ petitions pending in the Supreme Court.

The petitioners have requested that the Supreme Court issue an order to proceed with the investigation and to arrest Sapkota, while the respondents argued that the incident should be addressed by a transitional justice mechanism due to its conflict-related nature. The bench will consider both arguments before announcing its verdict.