Kathmandu, Sept 27: Questions have emerged over the legal basis and circumstances surrounding police taking former Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana into custody at around 3 am on Sunday, with authorities insisting he was taken for his protection rather than arrested.
Rana is being kept at the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office in Teku. Nepal Police has yet to issue an official statement explaining the action.
Office chief SSP Santosh Khadka said Rana faced a security threat but declined to disclose its nature or source. The explanation has raised questions over why he could not be protected at his residence, whether he voluntarily accompanied police and how long he will remain at the office.
Some senior police officials, speaking informally, said individuals identifying themselves with the Gen Z movement had threatened Rana on social media. Police have neither identified the alleged perpetrators nor disclosed whether anyone has been investigated or arrested.
It also remains unclear who authorised the action. Police have not said whether officers acted on a security assessment, orders from senior police officials or instructions from political authorities. Nor have they disclosed whether Rana received any written document explaining why he was being taken from his home.
Some police officials have reportedly suggested that the move followed higher political instructions. If so, questions remain over who issued the order, what evidence supported it and whether police independently assessed its legality.
The incident has also revived discussion of Rana’s controversial tenure as chief justice.
Rana, who became chief justice in December 2018, faced allegations of judicial misconduct, political interference and improper influence over bench assignments. Critics accused him of encouraging “bench shopping”, allegations that became part of a serious confrontation within the Supreme Court.
In 2021, Supreme Court justices demanded his resignation and boycotted benches assigned under his leadership. The dispute eventually led to a lottery system for assigning cases, reducing the chief justice’s control over bench formation.
Rana also faced criticism after his brother-in-law joined then prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s Cabinet amid allegations that Rana had sought representation in the government. An impeachment motion filed in Parliament in February 2022 resulted in his suspension.
Police maintain that Sunday’s action was solely for Rana’s protection. But until they explain the threat, his consent and the legal basis for keeping him at Teku, questions surrounding the extraordinary early morning action are likely to persist.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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