Contempt petition filed against RSP leaders for disrupting judicial process

Kathmandu, November 12 — The Supreme Court has ordered the registration of a contempt of court petition against Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) top leaders, who are accused of protesting against the court’s proceedings while an investigation into the mismanagement of cooperative funds is ongoing.

A bench led by Justice Binod Sharma on Tuesday issued an order for the registration of the petition that had been previously rejected by the Supreme Court administration.

Lawyer Anupam Bhattrai had submitted the contempt petition, claiming that accused had made public statements, organized protests, and attempted to disrupt the judicial process by pressuring the court during the ongoing investigation.

The petition was initially rejected by the Supreme Court administration, which had filed it for further review on October 30. After the petition was rejected by Assistant Registrar Achyut Kuinkel, lawyer Bhattarai submitted a petition to the bench on November 6 challenging the decision. In the first hearing of the petition, Justice Sharma's bench overturned the decision to forward the petition.

The Supreme Court's single bench ordered the dismissal of the petition, and Bhattarai, the lawyer, stated that he would now file a contempt petition today.

In his contempt petition, Bhattarai claimed that central leaders of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) had ridiculed the judicial process by holding public meetings, spreading factually incorrect and baseless information about the judiciary, and thereby creating confusion among the public regarding the independence of the judiciary.

However, the Supreme Court administration had raised some questions and rejected the petition, stating that advocate Bhattarai had failed to clearly explain which actions were in violation of judicial orders or decisions, or how they had shown contempt for the court.

The contempt petition includes several RSP lawmakers as defendants, including Swarnim Wagle, spokesperson Manish Jha, Sumana Shrestha, Birajbhakta Marhjan, Toshima Karki, and Sobita Gautam.

These are the parties named as opponents in the contempt petition.