Kathmandu, June 20: The Judicial Council has advised the Supreme Court to withdraw two judges from the temporary bench of Janakpur High Court in Birgunj, who had cleared Nepali Congress leader and ex-minister Mohammad Aftab Alam along with three others.
The two judges—Dr Khusi Prasad Tharu and Arjun Maharjan—had issued the contentious ruling, exonerating Alam in the widely known Rautahat bomb explosion case. The decision triggered formal complaints from families of the victims and legal campaigners, seeking a thorough inquiry into the judgment.
Among the complainants was Srinarayan Singh Rajput, whose son Trilok Prasad Singh (Pintu) was killed in the 2008 explosion. A separate complaint against the judges was also filed by activist Yubaraj Safal.
The proposal for their recall was taken up during Wednesday’s session of the Judicial Council. Still, Dipak Bhandari, the Registrar at the Birgunj bench, said they are yet to receive an official notice confirming the move.
Bhandari noted that both judges have been on leave since Sunday and are presently in communication with the Supreme Court. After the transfer of the previous chief judge, Rajan Bhattarai, to the Biratnagar High Court, Judge Tharu has assumed the position of the most senior judge at the Birgunj bench.
People's News Monitoring Service