Apex court upholds life imprisonment handed to Resham Chaudhary

KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has upheld the decisions of the Dipayal High Court and Kailali District Court to sentence Resham Lal Chaudhary, the patron of Nagarik Unmukti Party, to life imprisonment for his involvement in the Tikapur incident.

A division bench consisting of Justices Dr. Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Nahakul Subedi passed the verdict.

The high court on December 17, 2020, upheld the district court’s decision to hand life imprisonment to Chaudhary and six others involved in the incident.

Chaudhary has been convicted of masterminding the murder of eight police personnel, including Senior Superintendent Laxmane Neupane, in Tikapur of Kailali in August 2015.

The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal filed by Chaudhary and others who were convicted by the district and high courts.  During the hearing, Chaudhary’s legal representatives argued that since it is a political matter, it should be addressed at the political level. However, government attorneys contended that Chaudhary and Laxman Tharu were the masterminds behind the attack and should receive severe punishment.

The apex court, however, overturned the lower court’s decision to hand life imprisonment to Sitaram Chaudhary and Gangaram Chaudhary.

Chaudhary is currently serving his sentence at Dillibazaar Prison in Kathmandu. Nagarik Unmukti Party, which he opened from the prison, won four seats in the election for the House of Representatives held in November last year. His spouse Ranjita Shrestha is the chairperson of the party.