The apex court issued summons in response to a contempt case filed against the PM, his legal advisor and police chief for obstructing the interrogation of Maoist cadres accused of murdering Dailekh based journalist Dekendra Thapa.

The summons were issued in response to the case filed by the Democratic Lawyers Association. Attorney General Mukti Pradhana had issued written orders to Dailekh attorney office and administration office for not interrogating the Dekendra Thapa murder accused five Maoist cadres after receiving such orders from Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai.

The top cop Kuber Rana had also issued strict orders to his officers in Dailekh for not interrogating the accused and pressing any charges in the court.

The court has not given the privilege of appointing their representatives to defend the charges in the court and thus made it mandatory the trio to attend the summons in person.

If the apex court is not satisfied with their arguments, then it can slap them a fine unto Rs 10,000, or one year jail or both sentences.

In the contempt of court case, the petitioners have sought maximum penalty for the accused for misusing their authorities to save criminals.

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has warned that investigating war-crimes committed by both sides will derail the ongoing peace process.

Bhattarai while maintaining that Nepal is committed to try all war-crimes by forming Truth and Reconciliation Commission and transitional justice mechanisms, claimed that war-crimes should not be prosecuted through existing legal mechanisms.

Speaking at a program in the capital on Friday, the Maoist Prime Minister said that investigating war-crimes committed by both sides- Maoist and the government- will derail the peace process.

He asserted that Nepal will try all cases of war-crimes including murders, rapes, extortion, forced disappearances through TRC.

Arguing that the government has already pushed to form the TRC, he accused political parties of not supporting its move to endorse the ordinance, that has been awaiting the President’s endorsement for some months now.

Speaking to his party cadres in Rolpa, the place from which his party had started the ten year long insurgency, Prachanda said that the path of revolution is never straightforward and called his cadres to back leadership as it was bracing to fight against reactionary forces in Nepal.

While applauding the cadres as sons and daughters of revolutionary soil, Prachanda called on CPN Maoist cadres to join his party and continue the support that they had provided to the while fighting during the insurgency.

Speaking on the same occasion, Prime Minister and Prachanda’s deputy, Baburam Bhattarai expressed anguish against opposition parties for hindering the formation of Truth and Reconcilliation Commission and prosecuting war-era crimes through existing legal provisions.

Bhattarai claimed that the opposition parties were trying to derail the peace process by prosecuting war-era crimes through existing laws and claimed that doing so was against the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Interim Constitution.

He claimed that such a condition was indicative of mounting confrontation between the party and oppositions and called cadres to back the party’s move in the days ahead.