KATHMANDU: A contempt of court case has been filed against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, accusing him of obstructing the implementation of a Supreme Court mandamus related to the Giribandhu Tea Estate case in Jhapa.
Advocate Om Prakash Aryal registered the case, alleging that the Prime Minister brought a land-related ordinance to prevent the execution of the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench order issued last year on February 7.
In the petition, Aryal has also named Minister for Land Management and Poverty Alleviation Balram Acharya as a respondent. He has demanded that the court issue an order for Prime Minister Oli’s removal from office.
The Supreme Court’s previous mandamus stated that if land exceeding the prescribed ceiling was not used for its stated purpose or left barren, it should be acquired by the government.
Clause (b) of the verdict’s section 30 explicitly directed the identification of such land and mandated its immediate transfer to the government.
Similarly, Clause (c) of the ruling ordered that the land registered under Giribandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd., which was neither used for tea production nor within the permitted land ceiling, should be taken back by the government.
Aryal argued in the petition that despite being fully aware of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the government had deliberately disobeyed it.
He accused the Prime Minister of obstructing the implementation of the verdict, failing to reclaim the land, and misusing executive powers to hinder the legal process.
According to Aryal, this act not only violates judicial authority but also poses a serious challenge to the integrity of the judiciary.
The petition further claims that the Prime Minister has consistently blocked the execution of the order and introduced an ordinance to create additional obstacles. The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on the case for February 16.
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