KATHMANDU, Jan 24: A writ petition has been filed at the Supreme Court demanding the immediate arrest of Agni Sapkota, the sole candidate for the post of speaker.

Advocate Dinesh Tripathi registered the case at the apex court seeking an order to immediately arrest murder-accused Sapkota and halt the speaker's election scheduled for Sunday.

In his writ petition, Tripathi has argued that Sapkota is not qualified to become the speaker of the House of Representatives as he has been accused of murdering a school teacher during the conflict era.

The writ petitioner also demanded to arrest Sapkota and produce him before the court.

The writ petition has been registered at the SC at a time when NCP's key leader Sapkota is all set to be elected speaker of the lower house of parliament unopposed as no other lawmaker contested against his candidacy.

A meeting of the HoR on Sunday is scheduled to formally announce his election to the post. 

Sapkota, who is accused of in the murder of Arjun Bahadur Lama of Kavrepalanchowk in 2005 after his abduction, is set to be elected unopposed after the main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) decided not to field candidate against Sapkota in the hope of getting support from the NCP for its candidate for the post of deputy speaker. 

The position of House speaker is lying vacant since early October last year after the resignation of Krishna Bahadur Mahara from the post following a charge of attempted rape.

Read related story: ‘How can someone responsible for murdering my husband be elected speaker?’

 
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