Advocate Dinesh Tripathi moved the apex court with an application accusing Dahal of involvement in contempt of court by making a public statement against the dignity of the judiciary.
Addressing a function in the capital on Wednesday, Dahal had questioned, "Which caste and ethnicity does the court [SC] belong to?" He had also warned that his party would revolt if insurgency-era cases against Maoist leaders and cadres were revived by going against the Comprehensive Peace Accord, 2006. [break]
Tripathi has maintained that Dahal has hurt the impartiality, constitutional role and credibility of the SC by making such a public statement.
The applicant has claimed that UCPN (Maoist) chairman made the public statement in an attempt to threaten the judiciary.
Tripathi, in the application, has further argued that Dahal has made a mockery of the judiciary by saying that no case can be filed against leaders and cadres of a particular political party [UCPN (Maoist)].
"It is a serious challenge to judicial independence and rule of law to say that a court cannot oversee cases against a particular political party and it cannot convict them on the basis of available evidences and existing laws," the application on contempt of court reads.
Tripathi has stated that the public statement made by Dahal has caused obstruction of justice.
He has maintained that the public statement by Dahal, who is also a former prime minister, will hurt the dignity of the court and will create hurdles in the SC fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities. "The court should exercise zero tolerance toward such threat," states the application on contempt of court.
Tripathi has urged the apex court to summon Dahal to the court to furnish clarification on the issue and impose maximum punishment in accordance with the Supreme Court Act, 2048.
Dahal has been named defendant in the case.
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