KATHMANDU, Nov 26: The hearing on businessman Min Bahadur Gurung's case, which challenges the donation of land to the CPN-UML as being against the law, has been postponed for the fifth time at the Supreme Court (SC). The case, initially scheduled for its second hearing on November 11, could not be heard and has since been repeatedly postponed.
The hearing of the case was scheduled for Monday in the joint bench of justices Til Prasad Shrestha and Nityananda Pandey, but due to time constraints, it could not be heard. Out of 43 cases scheduled for this bench, 14 cases, including this one, were postponed. The SC had issued a temporary interim order on October 28, instructing not to transfer the land rights, stating that donating land to a political party was against the law.
Hearing on UML land donation case deferred
This order had also called for a hearing to be scheduled for November 11. A single bench of Justice Sunil Kumar Pokhrel had issued an order stating that the donation of land and the construction of party offices were in violation of the political party law, and thus directed that the transfer should not occur immediately. The order mentioned that the political party in question was registered with the Election Commission, active, and part of the government, but had acted in violation of the Political Parties Act.
Despite both parties being called for discussions, the scheduled hearing has continuously been postponed. Until the SC issues another order and a resolution is reached through discussion, the transfer of rights for the 10 ropanis and 14 annas of land alleged to have been donated will remain halted. Advocates like Gyan Bahadur Basnet had filed a writ petition claiming that the donation of land, buildings, or funds by any businessman to a political party, such as the CPN-UML and Bhattarai Group's Gurung, is illegal.
"The land donated by CPN-UML from Bhat-Bhateni Department Store’s director Min Bahadur Gurung in Kirtipur does not appear to comply with Section 38(3) and 38(6) of the Political Parties Act, as it is not in accordance with legal provisions. Furthermore, providing financial assistance with the condition of receiving financial or personal benefits from the party, and the party receiving such benefits, is prohibited by law. This creates advantages for the ruling party, lacks transparency, and can influence the electoral process," the SC stated in its previous order.
A public interest writ petition was filed at the Supreme Court against the CPN-UML party office building. Min Bahadur Gurung and his wife, Savitri, had donated land in Maitri Nagar, Kirtipur Municipality-2, Kathmandu, for the construction of the UML party office.
On October 11, Prime Minister Oli, along with the Gurung couple, laid the foundation stone for the UML office on a 10 ropani 14 aana plot of land. The Gurung couple had stated that they would build and hand over the office on that land. The issue became controversial after the CPN-UML, led by Chairman Oli, was accused of taking land and constructing a party office from a businessman, leading to the case being filed in the Supreme Court.
