Suspended NRB governor files petition at SC seeking reinstatement

Kathmandu / April 17: Suspended Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court. Adhikari has filed a petition at the apex court, requesting his reinstatement to the post at the central bank.

Governor Adhikari reached the court seeking an interim order to reinstall him to his position. The government suspended him on April 8.

Adhikari was appointed as NRB Governor by the then Oli-led government. Suspended Governor Adhikari has been accused of releasing confidential information, causing damage to the banking system, leaking classified information before making policy decisions, and stopping the import of luxury goods by the government and the Cabinet. The government has also formed a committee to investigate the charges against him.

The government’s decision to suspend the NRB governor has, however, drawn widespread criticism, with some critics of the government decision claiming that Adhikari was suspended after he did not obey Finance Minister Janardan Sharma’s written order to release suspicious-looking Rs 400 million that came from the US into the account of Prithvi Bahadur Shah of Achham. Shah was arrested in connection with a huge cache of fake Indian currency some five years ago.