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Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Nepal Nona Deprez paid a farewell call on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday.

During the meeting held at the official residence of the Prime Minister at Baluwatar, they discussed the issues of bilateral interest and concern, according to the Prime Minister's Secretariat.

Similarly, discussion was held on the issue of relations between Nepal and EU, the Secretariat said.

Vice-President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav is leaving for China on August 14.

He is leaving for Kunming of Yunnan Province next week to take part in the ‘China-South Asia Expo’.

This is Yadav's first foreign visit after being elected as the Vice-President.

Preparations are also being made for Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to China.

Prime Minister Dahal will leave for the northern neighbor in the third or fourth week of September.

Foreign Minister NP Saud said that preparations are being made for PM Dahal’s China visit.

This is the seventh edition of ‘China-South Asia Expo’.

The expo will be held from August 16-20.

During this stay in Kunming, Vice-President Yadav will hold sideline meetings with the leaders of Chinese Community Party, according to a source.

Sunday’s Supreme Court order in response to a habeas corpus writ has given rise to hopes that high-profile politicians, allegedly involved in the process of transferring government land at Lalita Niwas in the name of private individuals, will be brought under investigation. 

The SC has directed the government to expand the investigation to include the top decision-makers, making way for bringing former prime ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Baburam Bhattarai under the ambit of the probe. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued arrest warrants against those charged with involvement in the scam as part of an ongoing probe that has already netted about two dozen people. Thus far, high-level politicians have been able to avoid the investigation using political clout. 

Two years ago, the SC had completed its final hearing on a writ petition seeking its order to also probe former prime ministers Nepal and Bhattarai in the Lalita Niwas scam. A division bench of the then Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Rana and Justice Nahakul Subedi was to issue its verdict on 1 Nov 2021. But that was not to be as legal professionals started their protest against the then Chief Justice Rana.

As the judges’ and lawyers’ protest intensified, 98 lawmakers from the Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center), and CPN (Unified Socialist), among others, filed an impeachment motion in the Parliament against then CJ Rana on 13 Feb 2022, leading to his suspension. Rana completed his term in suspension even as the motion itself suffered an uncertain fate. 

“This case will be forever alive if the ex-PMs are not subjected to a probe. The court order should make way for investigations into other scams”  -Former DIG Hemanta Malla Thakuri

Senior Advocate Bal Krishna Neupane had filed a writ petition after the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) refused to press charges against the two former prime ministers, arguing that cabinet decisions were beyond its jurisdiction. Neupane contended that it was unjust to give reprieve to the former prime ministers, while ministers from the same cabinet could be charged.

Former chief of CIAA Surya Nath Upadhaya says the former prime ministers will definitely be brought under probe as the court has already ordered it. “But it’s difficult to prove them guilty,” he adds. “It’s not the task of a prime minister to get involved in the land allocation process. Prime ministers don’t have time for these tasks.” I don’t think the former prime ministers are directly involved in the case, he says.

Former DIG of Nepal Police Hemanta Malla Thakuri says that as the court has already issued its verdict, it will be a bit easier for the police or the CIAA to investigate the case anew. “The investigating agency has back-up support now,” he says. “Without this kind of support, cases involving high-profile figures like former prime ministers are always an uphill battle.” 

Notably, Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar and Chandra Dev Joshi, ministers in the cabinets of Nepal and Bhattarai respectively, were brought under the scope of the probe, even as Prime Ministers Nepal and Bhattarai, as well as the Chief Secretary authenticating cabinet decisions, remained exempt.

Justices Sinha and Chudal on Sunday ordered that the investigation should encompass all individuals engaged in the decision-making process starting from the top of the pyramid. The order has cleared the way for investigating agencies to include the two former prime ministers in their probe.

The cabinet meeting held on 11 April 2010 under then PM Nepal had decided to hand over government land in the names of private individuals. When the Land Revenue Office, Dillibazar, refused to execute the decision, stating that the task fell under the jurisdiction of the Land Reforms Office (LRO, the same cabinet decided that land revenue offices could handle the responsibilities of the LRO. On 13 Aug 2010, the cabinet decided to add names of some landowners and tenants “that were missing from the previous list”.

“It’s not the task of a PM to get involved in the land allocation process, so it will be difficult to prove the two former PMs guilty in this case” -Former CIAA chief Surya Nath Upadhyaya

The cabinet meeting held on 4 Oct 2012 under Bhattarai not only agreed, in principle, to hand over the Lalita Niwas land, which was under the Samarjung Company—an entity under the Ministry of Home Affairs—to Pashupati Tikinya Guthi, but also created fake tenants.

“This case will be forever alive if the probing bodies don’t subject Nepal and Bhattarai to investigation. Remember, the court has already ordered that they be brought under probe,” says Thakuri. “This landmark verdict will also help the police and the CIAA to probe other cases involving high-profile figures,” he adds.

The second meeting of the senior leaders of three major political parties along with the Speaker held in Baneshwor also ended inconclusively.

The meeting was held at the initiative of Speaker Devraj Ghimire.

The talks ended without making a concrete decision after the leaders of ruling and opposition parties refused to budge from their stances.

A serious discussion was held to resume the House proceedings.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Speaker Ghimire said that though a serious discussion was held, ruling and opposition leaders failed to reach a conclusion.

He said that the next meeting has been called for 10 am on Tuesday.

“Hopefully, the parties will reach consensus prior to the meeting called for 3 pm tomorrow,” he said.

Speaker Ghimire said that there is no alternative to agreement.

The main opposition CPN-UML has been obstructing the Parliament proceedings demanding formation of a high-level probe committee to investigate the latest gold smuggling case.