Supreme Court to Hear Case Following Presidential Pardon Granted to Resham Chaudhary in Tikapur Massacre

Kathmandu. The hearing is taking place today in the case registered at the Supreme Court following the presidential pardon granted to former lawmaker Resham Chaudhary, who was convicted in the Tikapur massacre.

The writ filed by Sharada Bohara Kadyat, naming the Office of the President as the respondent, will be heard by the joint bench of Supreme Court Justices Abdul Aziz Musalman and Shrikanta Paudel. Sharada is the wife of police inspector Keshav Bohara, who was killed in the incident.

The Supreme Court had upheld the life imprisonment sentence handed down by the Kailali District, Dipayal High Court against Resham, who was considered the main planner of the massacre, just on Jestha 2. However, he was released from Dillibazar Jail on Jestha 15 after the President Ramchandra Paudel granted him a general amnesty upon the recommendation of the government on the occasion of Republic Day.

If the general amnesty had not been granted, Chaudhary would have had to remain in jail until 2094 BS. Although he was supposed to serve an additional 14 years in prison according to the court's decision, he managed to be released after the remaining sentence was waived following the general amnesty.

After the government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' recommended the pardon and President Paudel released Chaudhary, Bohara's wife Sharada expressed strong dissatisfaction and approached the Supreme Court.

Before the promulgation of the new constitution, eight people, including one child and seven security personnel, were brutally murdered in Tikapur, Kailali on Bhadra 7, 2072, during the agitation demanding the Tharuhat Province, which turned violent.