Supreme Court Halts All Operations of Property Investigation Commission 2083

Kathmandu- The Supreme Court has ordered an immediate suspension of all activities carried out by the Property Investigation Commission 2083, effectively halting its operations until further notice.

The latest order came after the Commission issued a public notice on July 14 (Asar 29), which the court said misinterpreted an earlier Supreme Court directive that prohibited compelling anyone to submit property details.

A single bench of Justice Nripadhwaj Niraula on Wednesday issued an interim order barring the implementation of the Commission’s latest notice, resulting in the suspension of all of the Commission’s activities from Thursday.

Previously, the Supreme Court had ordered the Commission not to collect or investigate the property details of former judges and former military officials. However, the Commission later issued a notice stating that investigations involving individuals other than former judges and former military personnel would continue.

Challenging that notice, advocate Maniram Upadhyay filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court.

Following the latest court order, the Commission said it has suspended all work related to collecting property disclosures, reviewing files, and making recommendations.

The case has now been referred to a full bench after questions were raised over the Commission’s jurisdiction. The petition argues that the Constitution does not grant even the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) the authority to investigate former judges, constitutional office bearers, and military personnel, and therefore the Property Investigation Commission exceeded its constitutional mandate.