The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea by former Armed Police Force Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ranjan Koirala, who is serving a 20-year sentence for murdering his wife, seeking his release through a habeas corpus petition.

A bench of Justices Mahesh Sharma Paudel and Bal Krishna Dhakal issued the final order on Wednesday, ordering that Koirala must serve the full term in prison.

Koirala had filed the petition on December 12 last year, requesting his release, citing health reasons. The Ministry of Home Affairs, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and the Department of Prison Management among others were named as defendants in the petition.

Koirala was initially sentenced to life imprisonment (20 years) for killing his wife, Gita Dhakal, in February 2012. He was released on July 23, 2020, after the apex court commuted his sentence to eight years and six months. Koirala was rearrested after the court overturned the earlier decision on May 27, 2022.

A full bench of the then Acting Chief Justice Deepak Kumar Karki and Justices Tanka Bahadur Moktan and Kumar Chudal quashed the earlier 2020 verdict that had commuted the life term handed down to Koirala.

In January 2012, Koirala was handed down a life term by the Kathmandu District Court, and the decision was upheld by the then Patan Appellate Court. Koirala killed his wife, Gita, in February 2012. Her half-burnt body was found at Matrang of Tistung in Makawanpur district.