KATHMANDU, July 27: Overruling a four-year-old controversial verdict handed down by a division bench of the Supreme Court (SC), the apex court full bench headed by Chief Justice Ram Prasad Shrestha recently foiled an attempt by a group of locals to register 43 ropanis of government land at the prime location of New Baneshwar, Kathmandu in their own names.
The full bench comprising Chief Justice Shrestha and Justices Tahir Ali Ansari and Krishna Prasad Upadhyaya said the SC division bench verdict issued by Justices Rajendra Kumar Bhandari and Sharada Shrestha transferring the government land to individuals was wrong.
The division bench, upholding a verdict by Patan Appellate Court Judges Damodar Prasad Prajapati and Bodhrai Raj Pandey in 2002, had ruled in favor of a group of locals who claimed that the 43 ropanis belonged to them.
Revoking the division bench verdict of January 25, 2007, the full bench transferred ownership of the land to the government recently.
At current land prices, the value of the 43 ropanis is estimated at nearly Rs 2 billion.
Six people including Ishwari Devi Lamichhane, Pushkar Prasad Lamichhane, Janardan Lamichhane, Bhawani Prasad Lamichhane, Kiran Prasad Lamichanne and Balaram Prasad Lamichhane claimed that they have been using the land in question for a long time. They also furnished fake documents in court in a bid to influence the verdict.
"The documents furnished in court by a local group show that they misused two different Guthi Sansthan offices to come up with the fake documents," reads the text of the verdict, adding, "Their claim does not substantiate that the land had been used by them for long."
The full bench also said the land was owned by the government of Nepal and not by any Guthi Sansthan office.
According to the verdict, the Lamichhane group initially produced fake documents misusing a branch office of the Guthi Sansthan in 1994. Later in 2002, they produced fake documents misusing the Guthi Sansthan central office.
"Some officials within the Guthi Sansthan seem to have been influenced by the Lamichhane group to transfer the land to their names," reads the verdict, adding, "We hereby confirm that the land absolutely belongs to the government."
According to the text, another branch of the Guthi Sansthan had appealed to the apex court against the division bench ruling. But ironically, the Ministry of Land Reform and Management never appealed against the division bench ruling.
The SC full bench issued its final verdict in response to an appeal filed by some officials at the Guthi Sansthan central office.
Courtesey: BIMAL GAUTAM