Amid Twists and Turns, Resham Chudhary Arrested and Freed

April 30, 2025 saw a very dramatic arrest and equally dramatic (if not more) release of a political figure amid some interesting twists and turns.

At the Nepal Academy in Kamaladi, Kathmandu, the stage was set for a formal announcement of the unification of the Nagarik Unmukti Party and the Janamat Party.

Resham Lal Chaudhary, the patron of the NUP, was there along with leaders and supporters of the two parties that were to become one. 

Before the beginning of the formal ceremony,  police personnel in civvies arrested Chaudhary and took him away leading to the postponement of the unification event even as angry cadres and supporters started shouted slogans against the government.

The police said at the time that they made the arrest for the execution of a Supreme Court circular related to the August 2015 Tikapur carnage. 

Seven police, personnel, including Laxman Neupane, a senior superintendent of police, and a 1.5-year-old child, Tek Bahadur Saud, had lost their lives in the carnage at Tikapur, Kailali district. 

In connection with the carnage, the apex court had awarded life term to Chaudhary and several others.

In 2017, the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal fielded Chaudhary as a candidate for parliamentary elections from Kailali constituency number 1 while he was still underground, Chaudhary had won that election and was sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives on January 3, 2019, but he could not discharge his duties as a lawmaker due to the court order.            

Chaudhary had walked free after a presidential pardon on the Republic Day (May 28) in 2023.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Notably, tensions had been building in the lead-up to the unification event. Last Thursday, Janamat Party Chair CK Raut reported receiving death threats and warning that Chaudhary would be re-arrested in an effort to derail the unification.

However, the situation took another twist when Chaudhary walked free as Achyut Kuinkel, deputy registrar and spokesperson for the Supreme Court, clarified through a press statement that the circular used for the arrest of Chaudhary was “unofficial and unauthorized.” 

After its internal investigation, the court has issued a new directive to the prison administration and police not to act on the previous circular.

Meanwhile, police have arrested Mahiman Singh Bista, a section officer at the Supreme Court, for allegedly issuing the forged letter that led to Chaudhary’s arrest. An internal review is in progress to examine the drafting and circulation of the unauthorized circular.