Rajendra Kumar Acharya

Rajendra Kumar Acharya राजेन्द्र कुमार आचार्य
Judge, Kathmandu District Court [1]
Personal details
Born	(1969-10-01) 1 October 1969 (age 55) Arghakhanchi
Alma mater	Allahabad University, Tribhuvan University

Rajendra Kumar Acharya, (Nepali: राजेन्‍द्रकुमार आचार्य) is a district judge [2][3] and former Director of Judgement Execution Directorate,[4][5][6][7] Supreme Court of Nepal.

Early life

Acharya was born on 1 October 1969 in Arghakhanchi.[8] He has completed his PhD from Allahabad University in the Law of Tort.[9]

Notable cases

Judicial custody for lawmakers with criminal records

• In 2016, Acharya sent Sadbhavana party leader Ram Binod Yadav, a suspect in Janakpur Today's chairman Arun Singhaniya’s murder in 2010, into custody for interrogation. Yadav was also previously charged with the murder of two people.[10][2]
• He also directed the judicial custody of former MP Yog Narayan Yadav in connection with a murder case in which 2 were killed and 10 injured during a violent clash in Sabaila village’s school management committee election in 2015.[3]
• In 2023, Acharya issued another order to detain MLA Anirudh Singh Yadav for a pending murder trial.[11]

Rape cases

Rape and murder of Nirmala Panta

See also: Rape and murder of Nirmala Panta

• In 2019, Acharya granted bail to the eight police officials, including Superintendent of Police (SP) Dilli Raj Bista and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Angur GC who were accused of torturing and destructing the evidence in Nirmala Panta case.[12] Police officers were suspended following the FIR filed by Nirmala's mother Durga Devi which she later revealed that did so without reading the names completely.[13] They were later acquitted by the court.[14][15]
• In the same case, Acharya charged journalist Khem Bhandari, with defamation of the court, including a one-hour jail term and a fine of Rupee 1, for ‘sensationalizing’ the rape of a minor girl and publishing ‘distorted’ news of the incident.[16] Kanchanpur District Bar Association lodged a case against him accusing him of defamation of the court and of interfering with the court's procedure.[17] Bhandari, who turned out to be the relative of prime suspect Dilip Singh Bista, had accused Nirmala's mother, Durga Devi, of ‘selling justice for her daughter for money’.[18]

Banning leaked sexual harassment video

Two youths leaked a video of sexual assaulting a girl in a hotel.[19] Acharya ordered the central government to remove the leaked pictures and videos from social media and take action against those posting such material as well as to ban such sites.[20] The accused were later sentenced for seven years jail term and slapped a fine of Rs 200,000 each.[21][22]

Fake rape case

Acharya sentenced a woman to a jail term of three and a half years in charge of falsely claiming that she was raped and defaming her colleague.[23][24]

Rehabilitation of domestic violence victim

Acharya issued an interim protective order for the rehabilitation of a domestic violence victim. He ordered that the woman along with her two sons should be allowed to stay in her home and be spared from any physical and verbal abuse.[25] In another case, Acharya sentenced the husband's family to six months imprisonment, fine along with compensation for the physical assault and inhuman treatment to a woman.[26]

Banning election observers

In 2017 legislative election, Acharya complained Election Commission seeking to ban three European Union observers from monitoring the upcoming provincial and parliamentary polls in violation of the election code of conduct.[27][28] The observers went to Kanchanpur District Court, without any prior permission, to enquire about human resources available in the court, which was beyond their jurisdiction.[29] Later, Election Commission barred the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) observers from monitoring the election.

See also

• Rape and murder of Nirmala Panta

References

1. https://supremecourt.gov.np/court/kathmandudc/judges
2. Suresh, Yadav (30 March 2016). "Mastermind in singhaniya's murder held after 6 years". Republica. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
3. "UML leader Yadav in judicial custody on murder charge". The Himalayan Times. Rastriya Samachar Samiti. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
4. Quarterly Development Review May–June Edition(2013). (Page number 19 and 20 for the short biography).
5. "Reconciliation out of court leading to rise in crime". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
6. "How the cops chickened out". Kantipur. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
7. "Impunity Watch: Judiciary to issue blacklist of 300,000 absconders". Kantipur. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
8. http://jcs.gov.np/uploads/notices/1703065055%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%9F%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A8%20%E0%A5%A8%E0%A5%A6%E0%A5%AE%E0%A5%A6%20Published_compressed.pdf#page85
9. Seddon, Prof. Dr. David, ed. (2018). "Short biographical sketch of contributors of articles". Quarterly Development Review. 34 (38). Ram Kumar Khatri: 55.
10. "Arun Singhaniya murder case: Alleged mastermind held". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
11. "Court issues order to detain independent MP Yadav for pending trial". english.ratopati.com (in Nepali). Retrieved 6 January 2024.
12. "Court releases six cops on bail in Nirmala rape and murder case". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
13. "Durga Devi's U-turn". himalayantimes. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
14. "8 police personnel including SP Bista acquitted in Nirmala Panta rape and murder case". Setopati. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
15. Sureis (28 March 2019). "Suspended DSP GC freed on bail". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
16. "Journalist in Nepal Given 1-Hour Jail Term, Fined Re 1 for 'Sensationalising' and Publishing 'Twisted' News". News18. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
17. Dhakal, Sabin. "पत्रकार खेम भण्डारीलाई १ घन्टा जेल हालियो र १ रुपैयाँ जरिवाना पनि तिरायो अदालतले". pahilopost.com (in Nepali). Retrieved 6 January 2024.
18. Subedi, Anjali. "Durga Devi in digital violence maelstrom". My Republica. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
19. "Seven year imprisonment to sexual harassers". GorakhaPatra. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
20. Republica. "District court orders media to remove contents regarding rape case of Raute women". My Republica. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
21. Nepalnews. "Sexual harassers face seven-year imprisonment". nepalnews.com. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
22. "Seven year jail term slapped for sexually abusing Raute girls". Retrieved 6 January 2024.
23. Upadhyaya, Narendra. "Woman falsely accusing a man of raping her jailed for three and a half years". My Republica. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
24. diwakar (16 March 2021). "Surkhet woman sent to jail for 3.5 years for fake rape complaint - OnlineKhabar English News". Retrieved 6 January 2024.
25. Himalayan News Service (25 August 2022). "Domestic violence victim rehabilitated". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
26. INSEC. "Accused of Inhuman Treatment Sentenced to Imprisonment – Inseconline". Retrieved 6 January 2024.
27. "EC urged to bar EU poll observers from Kanchanpur". The Himalayan Times. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
28. "The Kathmandu Post -EU reps violate election code in Kanchanpur". kathmandupost.ekantipur.com. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
29. "Controversial EU team postpones poll observation". My Republica. Retrieved 4 August 2018.