Nepal Ex-Chief Justice Taken From Home At Night, Police Cite Security Threat

Nepal’s former chief justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana was taken from his residence to a police office in the early hours of Sunday, with police citing a possible security threat, before being released hours later amid questions over whether he had been arrested or placed under protective custody.

A police team from the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office reached Rana’s Maharajgunj residence at around 3 am and took him to its office in Teku. Early local media reports said Rana had been arrested in connection with a criminal case, but police later denied that he was being held over any criminal case.

Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Khadka said Rana was brought to the office after police received information that he could face a physical attack. Police have not publicly disclosed the source or specific nature of the alleged threat. Some local reports, citing Rana’s family and police sources, said the threat was linked to Gen Z groups.

Rana’s family said police did not show an arrest warrant when they took him from his home. According to reports, Rana initially asked authorities to increase security at his residence rather than take him away, but officers insisted that he accompany them.

The episode triggered further questions after a National Human Rights Commission team went to the Teku office to meet Rana but was reportedly denied access. The commission said it wanted to assess reports that a former chief justice had been taken away without an arrest warrant.

Police later released Rana at around 2 pm, saying he had been handed over to relatives and that security would be provided at his residence. The conflicting accounts have left unanswered questions over the legal basis for taking him from his home and whether he was formally detained.

The development comes weeks after Nepal’s Supreme Court dismissed petitions linked to Rana’s impeachment proceedings on September 9, ruling that the 2022 impeachment motion had lost its purpose. Rana became chief justice on January 1, 2019, but was suspended after Parliament registered an impeachment motion against him in February 2022. The motion was never put to a final vote before the House’s term ended.

The latest police action is being described by local reports as an unprecedented episode involving a former chief justice, with legal professionals and political figures seeking clarification over the procedure followed by authorities.