Kathmandu, February 17 (HS): Nepal's Supreme Court has sent a notice to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in a case of contempt of court. The court has asked Prime Minister Oli to give a written reply to this within seven days. The Supreme Court had ordered an inquiry into the land scam of Giribandhu Tea State last year, but instead of getting the investigation done, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli brought an ordinance to give legal form to this land scam.

Calling this decision of Prime Minister Oli as contempt of court, Supreme Court advocate Omprakash Aryal had filed a writ. Hearing on this on Monday, the court has sent a notice to Prime Minister Oli. Advocate Aryal said that the court has given seven days' time to the Prime Minister and directed him to give a written reply on this. Apart from sending a notice to Prime Minister Oli, the joint bench of Supreme Court judges Saranga Subedi and Nityanand Pandey has asked to submit all the files related to Giribandhu Tea State in the court. In their brief decision, the judges have said that now the court will investigate it under its supervision.

Giribandhu Tea State is in Nepal's eastern border Jhapa, where Oli had distributed about three and a half hundred bighas of government land to his favourites during his previous government, but after this the Supreme Court had cancelled this land allotment and ordered an investigation into it. This time when Oli again took power, he has tried to give legal recognition to this land allotment by bringing an ordinance. However, this ordinance has not been passed by the Parliament till now and this ordinance in the name of land ordinance is being continuously opposed by the ruling party and opposition parties.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar