KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court (SC) put a writ petition filed against Speaker Agni Sapkota on hold till the next hearing date.

The single bench of Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla started hearing the case on Monday. The hearing was put on hold as the bench ran short of time.

Advocate Dinesh Tripathi had moved the court seeking an interim order to immediately halt the process of Speaker’s election arguing that a murder-accused should not qualify for the post of Speaker of the federal parliament.

Sapkota, however, already has been elected Speaker of House of Representatives. He has assumed his office too.

Tripathi, in the writ petition, has demanded to immediately arrest Sapkota and present him at the court since he is the murder-accused.

Sapkota has been accused of murdering Arjun Lama of Chhatrabans of Kavre district.

The dead body of Lama, who was abducted by the Maoist cadres on April 30, 2005, had been found at Charkilo of Budakhani of the district.