KATHMANDU: Citing “systemic failure” to guarantee justice for ordinary citizens, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Yagyamani Neupane declared on Saturday that wiping out corruption is entirely impossible without a “ruthless review” and structural overhaul of Nepal’s judiciary.

The sharp critique from Neupane—who was elected to the House of Representatives from Morang Constituency No. 1 during the March 5 general elections—follows a Special Court ruling on Friday.

The court ordered the release of CPN (UML) Vice Chairman and former Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel on a general date without bail, less than a month after his high-profile arrest in Surkhet on June 22 on money laundering charges.

Expressing deep dissatisfaction with recent judicial trends, the newly elected lawmaker argued that the current legal framework shields the powerful while leaving everyday citizens vulnerable.

“A series of past events has made it entirely clear that without a complete restructuring of the judiciary, good governance and the end of corruption are simply impossible,” Neupane stated in a social media post. “Furthermore, ordinary citizens are left in a position where they cannot feel guaranteed of receiving justice.”

Neupane, who has a professional background in legal practice, stressed that the country has reached a critical juncture where a radical overhaul of the courts can no longer be delayed, warning that hesitation could completely erode public faith in the legal system.

“The time has come to conduct a ruthless review of our judiciary. The more we delay this task, the closer we get to an unimaginably worse situation,” he warned.

Reaffirming that his statement was not born out of political theater but structural reality, Neupane concluded, “Every organ of the state must be willing to embrace change; only then is transforming this country possible. This is not a conclusion I have reached out of impulse, but the result of serious, deliberate reflection.”