Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has issued an interim order against the decision of the Credit Information Bureau (CIB) to keep Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidate Kishori Sah on its blacklist for banking offences.
A single bench of Justice Saranga Subedi issued the order on Thursday, directing the CIB not to enforce its decision until further notice.
Sah had contested the House of Representatives election from Dhanusha‑1. However, two days before the polls, the Election Commission (EC) scrapped his candidacy after receiving a complaint stating that he was on the CIB’s blacklist, making him ineligible to contest the election.
Sah challenged the decision at the Supreme Court.
However, since the EC had already printed ballot papers carrying his election symbol, the bell, voting took place with his symbol still on the ballot. According to initial counting trends, Sah was leading the vote tally by a wide margin before the EC removed the counting details from its website.
Meanwhile, Matrika Yadav of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), who was second on the vote count, claimed victory in the constituency. Following pressure from his supporters, the office of the returning officer reportedly issued him the election certificate with a condition that the final validity of the result would depend on the Supreme Court’s decision.
The apex court has scheduled the next hearing in the case for Friday.
