KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court (SC) has overturned the decision made by its administration, allowing the filing of a writ petition related to the CCTV case involving the Ministry of Finance.

A bench comprising Justices Dr. Anand Mohan Bhattarai and Dr. Manoj Sharma has revoked the SC Administration’s previous ruling that rejected hearing the writ petition.

The Court’s decision includes a request for a judicial investigation into the controversy surrounding unauthorized individuals entering the Ministry of Finance during the prior year’s budget preparation.

During Janardan Sharma’s tenure as the finance minister, retired personnel Raghunath Ghimire entered the finance ministry premises on May 28, 2022, the final day of budget preparations. An investigative parliamentary committee was formed following this incident, alleging alterations to the tax rate within the budget.

At the time, the Ministry of Finance declined to provide details, stating the unavailability of CCTV footage from the night of May 28, 2022. Subsequently, advocate Jay Prasad Paudel submitted a writ petition to the Supreme Court, urging an investigation into the involved individuals and the establishment of a judicial inquiry commission.

Initially, the SC Administration declined to proceed with the petition, citing it inappropriate for the administration to intervene in the rights of an active parliamentary inquiry committee.

However, the special investigation committee concluded its probe, stating a lack of evidence confirming any manipulation of the budget rates.