KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has issued an interim order barring the arrest of former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife Arzu Rana Deuba in connection with a money laundering investigation.

A joint bench of Justices Mahesh Sharma Paudel and Nityanand Pandey issued the order after hearing a writ petition filed by Deuba challenging the arrest warrant sought by the Department of Money Laundering Investigation.

In its ruling, the court stated that the procedures adopted by the Department and the Kathmandu District Court while seeking and granting the arrest warrant did not appear to comply with prevailing legal provisions.

Deuba, through his petition, stated he was willing to cooperate with investigators and argued that his arrest was unnecessary. Police had earlier attempted to seek an Interpol Red Notice against the couple, but the request was reportedly declined due to insufficient documentation.