Supreme Court Allows Mayor Balen Shah to Appoint Representative in Contempt Case

Kathmandu. The Supreme Court has granted permission to Mayor Balen Shah to appoint a legal representative in the contempt of court case filed against him. On Friday, a bench consisting of judges Hari Phuyal and Shanti Singh Thapa allowed Shah to be represented by a proxy in the proceedings.

With this court authorization, Shah's representative can now attend court dates on his behalf. Previously, the Supreme Court had not granted such a facility to Shah. The contempt case against Shah has been ongoing in the Supreme Court for three years. The case, filed by advocate Barsha Kumari Jha, was scheduled for a hearing, alleging that Shah committed contempt of court through his statements refusing to abide by court orders.

Mayor Balen had filed an application on Baisakh 3 requesting permission for a representative once again. Balen had declared that he would not allow the film 'Adipurush' or any other Indian films to be screened in Nepal until the phrase 'India's daughter' was removed from the movie, and he had deployed metropolitan police to cinema halls.

Following that, the Motion Picture Association, an umbrella organization of theater owners, filed a writ at the Patan High Court. The court issued a short-term interim order directing that the decision to ban the screening of Hindi films should not be implemented immediately.

Upon receiving news of the order issued by the single bench of High Court Judge Dhir Bahadur Chand, Balen stated that he would not obey the court's order on matters of sovereignty and independence. Balen wrote on social media, 'When it comes to the sovereignty and independence of the country, I will not abide by any law or court.'

Balen also accused the state and the court of being subservient to India. Advocate Jha filed the contempt of court writ, claiming that Balen's expression was contrary to the constitution and the rule of law.