KATHMANDU, Sept 24: All files linked to high-profile individuals in courts across Nepal have reportedly been destroyed amid the Gen-Z movement. This includes files from 23 district courts, as well as the Supreme Court (SC). Files related to the investigation on significant cases, such as cooperative scams including Suryadarsan and Swarnalaxmi, the widely discussed fake Bhutanese refugee scandal, and various gold smuggling cases, were among those lost.
Additionally, important documents concerning the Maoist conflict and land disputes were also destroyed, according to court employees. Historical records, archives, and legal precedents were reduced to ashes. Sources indicate that many files associated with Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chair Rabi Lamichhane were deliberately targeted.
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Attackers also set fire to district courts, government attorney offices, and other judicial bodies. Files of individuals involved in the fake Bhutanese refugee case—including Nepali Congress leader Bal Krishna Khand and CPN-UML leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi—and those implicated in the 33 kg gold smuggling case were destroyed. Files related to killings during the Maoist conflict were also lost. The SC, Kathmandu District Court, and Kaski Court were among the worst affected.
Kathmandu District Court staff reported that sections 9, 13, and 14 were specifically attacked. Section 9 contained files on the fake Bhutanese refugee case, section 13 on cooperative scams, and section 14 on gold smuggling. “Files in these cases were in the final hearing stage,” a court employee said. Staff added that attackers appeared to have prior knowledge of which sections to target, setting fire to the files by name.
Court employees said legal experts will now have to re-investigate the cases from scratch. Records spanning 1999 to 2030 BS and from 2054 BS to the present were also burned. Fires were also reported in Kaski and Chitwan district courts.
In Kaski, demonstrations near the district court began on September 8, prompting a daytime curfew. Following Lamichhane’s release from Nakkhu Jail, files related to the Suryadarsan cooperative case were allegedly set on fire at Kaski Court. Police and government attorney offices were also targeted. Protesters initially focused on Section 3 in Kaski, which held files against Lamichhane.
Out of nearly 60,000 new and archived cases in the SC, most sustained damage, including files stored in the annexe building. Protesters selectively set fire to locations holding court records. First-time intruders destroyed the SC data center and later returned to set more fires. According to the SC administration, most corruption case files were also destroyed. With the loss of files in serious criminal cases, the administration emphasized that cases will need to be reviewed from the beginning.
