SC ORDERS SURYA TOBACCO VERDICT REVIEW
The Supreme Court on Sunday ordered a review of its controversial
verdict on Surya Tobacco Pvt. Ltd, ruling that the nearly 10-year
old judgment flouted the set apex court precedents.
Justices Anup Raj Sharma, Bal Ram KC and Rajendra Kumar Bhandari
ordered a review in response to a plea filed by Finance Ministry
on behalf of the government in 1998. The review order came after
a closed-door discussion of the justices today.
Passed by the then Justices Hari Prasad Sharma and Harish
Chandra Prasad Upadhyay on April 8, 1998, the verdict had
nullified the government decision to collect Rs 135.982m excise
duty from the tobacco company as per appendix 3 (note 2) of the
Finance Act 1993.
While nullifying, the court had then ruled that the "note"
should not be taken as substantive law. When the verdict was
passed, the present King Gyanendra, the then prince, was holding
majority shares in the company. . . .
The verdict is considered one of the most controversial ones in
Nepal's judicial history. Even the parliament had discussed the
verdict.
