Opposition parties criticised the government in parliament on Monday following the unexplained police detention of former chief justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana, demanding an immediate official explanation for what they termed an unlawful step against the rule of law.

Opposition lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and National Assembly condemned the midnight action as ‘an authoritarian overreach executed under the pretext of security threats,’ but lawmakers from the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) maintained a complete silence regarding the controversy.

During Monday’s sessions of both chambers, members from the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Nepali Communist Party (NCP), Shram Sanskriti Party, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) united in protesting Rana’s detention. Opposition members argued that the government was misusing the ‘Gen Z’ label to violate constitutional guarantees and legal procedures. In contrast, RSP lawmakers focused their speeches on praising Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s address at the UN General Assembly and highlighting local flood management efforts.

In the National Assembly, Congress lawmaker Ananda Prasad Dhungana warned that current administrative practices were falling below the standards seen even during the Panchayat era. “The former chief justice was taken into custody needlessly at night and without a warrant. What on earth is happening in this country?” said Dhungana. “When I read newspapers, I wondered whether the Panchayat system was really returning.”

Accusing the executive of moving towards autocratic rule through decrees, Dhungana demanded a formal answer from the government. “The government must explain why he was detained. No citizen can be seized without a documented offence. The government claimed it needed to protect him. If security threats existed, the state should have deployed security reinforcement instead of executing an arrest.”

In the House of Representatives, opposition leaders pressed the government to clarify why police took Rana under control and under what legal authority he was later released. UML Chief Whip Ain Bahadur Mahar asserted that the state had directly violated constitutional norms.

“The government is acting as if it is the law itself, flouting both the legal system and the rule of law,” said Mahar. “A government that claims to strengthen state institutions cannot use its mandate to undermine legal boundaries. Rana was taken into custody without any charge.”

Mahar also accused the government of attempting to tarnish the reputation of the younger generation by portraying them as a security threat. “The leadership came to power on the shoulders of Gen Z, yet today it is vilifying the very Gen Z that brought it to power,” he said.

Similarly, NCP Chief Whip Yubaraj Dulal expressed similar concerns and demanded that the government address parliament immediately. He recalled that since the current government took office, high-profile figures, including a former prime minister, had been repeatedly detained only to be released shortly afterwards by court orders. Dulal questioned whether the ‘midnight police drama was staged to distract public attention from disaster relief management.’

Shram Sanskriti Party lawmaker Dhruba Raj Rai also criticised the government’s ‘inconsistent’ actions. “Our advice to the government is to stop playing childish games. One is arrested and later released. If a matter is serious, they should handle it with the seriousness it deserves; otherwise, what exactly is the government trying to achieve?” he said.

RPP lawmaker Bharat Giri argued that if a former chief justice faced security risks, the state should have beefed up his personal security detail rather than taking him into custody. “Even human rights activists were denied access when they went to see him,” said Giri.

While opposition parliamentarians raised such questions, ruling lawmakers remained completely silent regarding the issue. RSP MPs Sushil Khadka, Manish Khanal, Bharat Prasad Parajuli, Rajkishor Mahato, Shriram Neupane, Madhav Bahadur Thapa, Sulabh Kharel, Thakur Singh Tharu, Samina Miya, Buddharatna Maharjan, and Som Sharma addressed the House, but limited their remarks to praising Prime Minister Shah’s UN address on the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli floods and climate change, alongside concerns related to their own constituencies.

Even the RSP lawmakers who had criticised the arrest on social media refrained from raising the issue in parliament. Ranju Neupane (Darshana) had posted on Facebook that the arrest lacked proper legal procedures. Similarly, RSP lawmaker Rajiv Khatri in a social media post said picking up a citizen in an abduction-like manner without a warrant damaged [public] trust in the government. He drew parallels to previous police actions against RSP chair Rabi Lamichhane.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a formal summons to Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Khadka, head of the Valley Crime Investigation Office in Teku, for questioning.

The rights body summoned him after police prevented NHRC representatives from meeting Rana in detention on Sunday. NHRC Secretary Murari Kharel confirmed that they wrote to the Nepal Police on Monday asking Khadka to appear before the commission on Tuesday.

A three-member team led by NHRC member Manoj Duwady went to Teku to monitor the detention after reports that Rana was held in police custody without a warrant. Police kept the team waiting at the gate for 45 minutes before turning them away.

A formal application requesting security for former CJ Rana has been registered with the Kathmandu Valley Police Office in Ranipokhari. The application, bearing the signature and thumbprints of Rana’s son Sachindra was confirmed by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Govinda Thapaliya. “He (Rana) is currently at his residence under police security,” said DIG Thapaliya.

In the upper house, NCP member Ghanashyam Rijal raised questions regarding Rana’s current status. “Has he been released, or is he still under house arrest?” he asked.

Confusion persisted following his procedural release on Sunday afternoon. Although police stated he was handed over to his family to return to his Bansbari residence, Armed Police Force personnel stationed at Rana’s residence told reporters that he had not returned home since Sunday night.