The Supreme Court has issued a show cause order in the two writ petitions filed against CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Giving a priority to the writ petitions, a single bench of Justice Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada on Friday issued the show cause order in the name of Dahal to furnish a written clarification within 15 days, Supreme Court spokesperson Bimal Paudel said. Advocates Gyanendra Raj Aran and Kalyan Budhathoki had filed writ petitions against Dahal.

The duo filed separate writs at the Supreme Court demanding a criminal investigation and action against Dahal over war-era cases.

While addressing 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. Aran and Budhathoki had tried to file petitions demanding that the court issue an order to arrest Dahal 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.