Justice Bishwamber Prasad Shrestha’s bench will hear the writ petitions filed against CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. The Supreme Court administration said that Shrestha’s bench will hear the writs. A preliminary hearing will be conducted today in the writ petitions registered by advocate duo Gyanendra Raj Aran and Kalyan Budhathoki against Dahal for claiming the responsibility of 5, 000 Maoist-insurgence era deaths three years ago.

During a program held on January 15, 2020, Dahal had said that out of 17, 000 people killed in the Maoist insurgency, 5,000 were killed by the Maoist and he would take the responsibility for it.

The advocate duo filed writ petitions demanding that the court order Dahal's arrest and punish him for taking the responsibility for 5,000 deaths, but the court administration had refused to do so, claiming that the issue was related to transitional justice. Earlier on Friday, a division bench of Justice Ishwor Khatiwada and Hari Prasad Phuyal ordered the Supreme Court administration to take petitions against Dahal. Then rebels had kidnapped and murdered advocate Aran’s father Tilakraj. Similarly, advocate Budhathoki’s father was displaced. The Supreme Court’s decision has rattled Prime Minister Dahal and his party. They are crying foul over what they say is a conspiracy to corner them by bringing up the conflict-era cases, which ought to be dealt by the transitional justice commissions.