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KATHMANDU, June 20: In a major development with Nepal’s judiciary, two judges of the Birgunj-based temporary bench of Janakpur High Court who passed a controversial verdict to acquit former minister and Nepali Congress (NC) leader Mohammad Aftab Alam in a grave criminal case have been transferred to the Supreme Court for further investigation.
The Judicial Council made the decision amid growing concern over the verdict that overturned a previous life sentence handed down by the Rautahat District Court. Judges Khusi Ram Tharu and Arjun Maharjan were reassigned to the apex court on Thursday, following a meeting of the Judicial Council chaired by Chief Justice Bishwombhar Prasad Shrestha.
According to sources, the JC acted even before formal complaints were lodged, after receiving internal intelligence suggesting serious flaws in the High Court’s handling of the case. JC member Ram Prasad Bhandari was tasked with reviewing the full case file. With his term set to expire on June 24, the JC expedited the transfer decision, indicating the urgency and seriousness of the matter.
Judicial Council recommends removal of two judges who acquitted...
Although the full text of the High Court verdict has not yet been made public, the summary available in the court register lists three key grounds for acquittal. Chief among them is the assertion that the explosion at Alam’s residence on April 9, 2008, was “not objectively proven.” However, police records, eyewitness accounts and evidence from the scene—including remains found in a nearby brick kiln—directly contradict this claim.
The JC is said to have been particularly alarmed by how the judges dismissed the explosion itself, despite the availability of material evidence and witness testimony. The JC has now designated Supreme Court Justice Binod Sharma to conduct an independent inquiry into the conduct of Judges Tharu and Maharjan.
The second and third grounds for acquittal were that the plaintiff failed to conclusively prove that the victims were burned in a brick kiln, and that forensic reports did not definitively link the cause of death to the kiln fire. These conclusions are also under scrutiny.
Formal complaints have since been filed with the JC. Shree Narayan Singh, 84, the father of one of the alleged victims, Trilok Pratap Singh alias Pintu, has submitted a complaint demanding action against the judges. Another complaint has come from rights activist Yuvraj Safal.
The original police investigation concluded that the explosion occurred at the home of Sheikh Idris during the first Constituent Assembly election in 2008, while bombs were being assembled. Witnesses said that 24-year-old Pintu and 22-year-old Osi Akhtar were killed in the blast, along with two Indian nationals and their bodies were burned in a brick kiln to destroy evidence. Based on this, the Rautahat District Court had handed Alam and others life sentences for murder, 10 years for attempted murder, and additional jail time and fines under the Explosives Act.
The JC’s move to launch an investigation at the highest judicial level signals a rare and serious response to what many view as a miscarriage of justice in a politically sensitive case.
