Kathmandu- The Supreme Court has refused to register a writ petition filed against former Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Rana. Advocate Yagyamani Neupane had filed the petition on Wednesday, arguing that Rana had refused to sign the verdict on the case against the dissolution of Parliament.

In Friday’s order, Registrar Man Bahadur Karki stated that preparing and authenticating a verdict is part of the judicial process, and therefore, the petition could not be filed under the court’s extraordinary jurisdiction. Citing Section 128 of the Civil Procedure Code 2017 and Rule 18 of the Supreme Court Regulations 2017, the court returned the petition.

On December 20, 2020, then–Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli dissolved the House of Representatives for the first time. On February 23, 2021, the Constitutional Bench led by then Chief Justice Rana annulled the dissolution.

Although the full text of the verdict was prepared and signed by the other justices, Rana refused to sign, preventing its publication. Neupane’s petition had also requested an interim order to ensure that Rana did not obstruct the preparation and authentication of the verdict.