Gandaki province lawmaker Deepak Manange arrested

Kathmandu, November 12 — Gandaki Province Assembly member Deepak Manange has been arrested. He was apprehended by the police from Comfort Housing in Sano Bharyang, Kathmandu.

A source close to the Police Headquarters confirmed his arrest on Tuesday morning. The police detained Manange after the Supreme Court found him guilty in a murder attempt case on November 5. 

The Supreme Court upheld the decision made by the Patan High Court, which had sentenced Manange to five years in prison for attempted murder. The High Court had previously ruled in the same case, and the Supreme Court confirmed the verdict, affirming the five-year sentence.

Manange had been previously detained in connection with the murder case in 2018. After appealing while in custody, the Supreme Court ordered his release on bail on December 21, 2018, and he continued fighting the case while out of jail. His case began in the Supreme Court on February 15, 2019.

Deepak Manange's group had attacked rival gang leader Chakre Milan 21 years ago, severing his hand with a sword. The assault was allegedly due to a dispute over contracting and collection activities. The attack, carried out in 2004, was intended to kill Milan, and a case was filed against Manange in the Kathmandu District Court. However, the District Court only convicted him for minor assault, sentencing him to two years in prison.

Dissatisfied with the District Court's ruling, the government filed an appeal in the then Appellate Court, Patan. The Appellate Court reversed some aspects of the District Court's decision, convicting Manange under the attempted murder charge and sentencing him to five years in jail. Other co-accused were acquitted.

The government then took the case to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld the Appellate Court’s decision and directed that the sentence be implemented. However, Manange had neither reported to jail for his sentence nor filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, leading him to be listed as a fugitive.

It was only after Manange was elected as a Provincial Assembly member from Manang that he went to the Supreme Court to appeal his case. In May 2017, the Supreme Court registrar rejected his appeal due to the expiry of the time limit for filing an appeal. As a result, he was sent to jail.

While in jail, Manange filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court, claiming that he had not been given the opportunity to file an appeal and that no notices had been sent to his address. The joint bench of Justices Sharada Prasad Ghimire and Bam Bahadur Shrestha overturned the decision to reject his appeal and ordered that he be released on bail to allow him the opportunity to file his appeal.

Under the new provisions of the Muluki Ain (National Penal Code), an individual facing less than a 10-year sentence is allowed to fight their case while free on bail. Based on this, the Supreme Court directed Manange to continue his case while outside of jail. However, following the court's decision, Manange must now serve the remaining term of his sentence.