KATHMANDU, June 6: Kathmandu District Court Judge Kailash Prasad Subedi has referred the defamation case between Nepal Republic Media Pvt Ltd (NRM) versus Gopal Khadka to another bench.

He said although former chief of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) Gopal Khadka failed to establish the kinship between NRM and him, he decided to refer the case to another bench.

"Even though a petition has been lodged by Khadka conceding his failure to establish kinship, I have decided to refer the case to another bench," the order stated. Although final hearing in the case was scheduled for Tuesday, the judge informed NRM's lawyers that he referred the case to another bench.

Earlier Khadka had gotten the hearings in the case postponed many times claiming that NRM's Managing Director Binod Raj Gyawali and the judge Subedi were kins and the court had ordered Khadka to prove the claim.

While submitting an application to the court, Khadka's attorney-in-fact, Motilal Tamang had conceded that he could not prove kinship between Gyawali and the judge.

Section 30 of Court Management chapter of Muluki Ain has prohibited judges for deciding cases relating to their nearest relatives but Khadka had asked to change the bench without providing any evidence of relation.

The defamation case filed by Khadka against Nepal Republic Media officials seeking Rs 800 million in damages on the charge of tarnishing his reputation through anti-corruption news reports in Nagarik and Republica dailies has already completed the required process and is awaiting final decision.

 
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