The Supreme Court on Monday directed the concerned government authorities not to arrest former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his spouse, Arzu Rana Deuba.

The top court ruled that the jurisdiction to adjudicate offences investigated by the Department of Money Laundering Investigation lies exclusively with the Special Court. The Kathmandu District Court had issued arrest warrants against the Deubas on April 6. With the top court’s ruling, the district court’s order has automatically been nullified.

Responding to a writ petition filed on behalf of the Deubas, a division bench of Justices Mahesh Sharma Poudel and Nityananda Pandey issued the interim order on Monday after hearing arguments presented by both the petitioners and the government side.

Earlier, on May 19, a single bench of Justice Meghraj Pokharel had issued a show-cause order directing the respondents to submit written explanations.

Although the petitioners had sought an interim order to stay any arrest on the grounds that an investigation into a money-laundering offence was underway, the Supreme Court initially declined to grant immediate interim relief, observing that it would be appropriate to decide the matter only after hearing arguments from both sides.