CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has claimed that the government has placed suspended Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana under house arrest. Speaking to mediapersons after the Secretariat meeting of the party on Sunday, he commented about the government’s behavior on Rana. “Keeping the suspended Chief Justice under house arrest is a blow to democracy,” Oli said.

He said that his party would condemn the role played by the government in the chief justice impeachment case.

“The government should work as per the democratic norms and values. It should follow the principle of separation of powers,” he said. Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the government to respect the rights to privacy and personal freedom of Chief Justice Rana. The Commission said that such rights should not be curtailed under any circumstances, read a statement issued by the rights watchdog spokesperson Tikaram Pokharel.