Government announces withdrawal of bill on cases against political leaders

Kathmandu, December 22 — The government has announced the withdrawal of a bill concerning the withdrawal of cases against political party leaders, which is currently under consideration by the Law, Justice, and Human Rights Committee of the Federal Parliament.

In today’s meeting, Minister of Law Ajay Kumar Chaurasiya stated that the government is withdrawing the proposed amendment to the Bill to Amend Certain Nepal Acts.

The proposal to withdraw cases against political leaders who have joined peaceful politics was introduced under Section 64 of the Bill to Amend Certain Nepal Acts. This provision was previously announced for withdrawal by the former Minister of Law, and now Minister Chaurasiya has confirmed the withdrawal.

The proposal suggested that the government could withdraw any case, even at any level of the court, if a political power that had been involved in armed conflict or was underground had come to peaceful politics. 

However, there was criticism of the government’s plan to amend the law and withdraw cases, as it was argued that modifying a case already in court through a broad amendment to the Nepal Act would not be appropriate.

Critics suggested that cases related to armed conflict should be addressed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and other cases should be dealt with similarly. After facing such criticism, the government decided to withdraw the proposal.

In the Sunday meeting, Minister Chaurasiya confirmed the withdrawal of Section 64 from the proposed bill. "Since the previous minister had already announced the withdrawal of Section 64, we are ready to withdraw it," said Minister Chaurasiya.

Secretary of the Ministry of Law, Uday Raj Sapkota, explained that the decision to withdraw the section was made because it is possible to create a separate law if necessary. "If needed, a sunset clause can be introduced. The government’s position, as expressed by the minister, is that this section will be withdrawn," he added.

Previously, the government had reached an agreement with leaders such as Janamat Party Chairman CK Raut and Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) Supremo Netra Bikram Chand ‘Biplav,’ where it was agreed to withdraw cases against them that were pending in the courts.

To implement this agreement, the government had included such a provision in certain amendments to Nepal law.