Supreme Court blocks arrest of former PM Deuba in money laundering case

The Supreme Court has issued an interim order to the government not to arrest former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his spouse in accordance with the arrest warrant from the Department of Money Laundering Investigation.

The interim order was issued by a joint bench of Justices Mahesh Sharma Paudel and Nityananda Pandey after hearing the writ petition filed by Deuba through his representative to prevent the arrest.

Following discussions between the government and the petitioner on Monday (Jestha 11), the Supreme Court granted the interim order as requested. The written copy of the order from the bench is yet to be released.

Deuba approached the Supreme Court questioning the jurisdiction after the Department of Money Laundering Investigation obtained permission for arrest from the Kathmandu District Court. The writ claims that the district court does not have the jurisdiction to grant such permission.

Previously, a bench of Justice Meghraj Pokharel had summoned both parties for a discussion on whether to issue an interim order in the arrest warrant case.

Deuba, stating his readiness to cooperate with the investigation, argued in the writ that there was no need for arrest. The Deuba couple, who traveled to Hong Kong before the elections, have not yet returned to Nepal.