The Supreme Court on Monday issued an interim interlocutory order prohibiting CPN-UML from building structures on land donated by businessman Min Bahadur Gurung, for now.

A single bench of Justice Sunil Kumar Pokharel passed the order in response to a writ petition filed by Gyan Bahadur Basnet and Shyam Krishna Maskey, who sought to stop construction on the land.

Gurung, owner of the Bhatbhateni supermarket chain, donated the land and announced plans to build the UML central office and hand it over in a year, sparking controversy due to its legal history. In February last year, he was sentenced to two years in prison and fined over Rs 8 million for his involvement in the Lalita Niwas land grab scam. He was released on bail in September, but was later detained again by the CIB for falsifying government documents. He was later released.

On October 11, Prime Minister and UML President KP Sharma Oli, along with party leaders, laid the foundation stone of the UML headquarters on the 10 ropani and 14 ana of land (0.55 hectares ) donated by the Gurung in Maitrinagar, Ward 2 of Kirtipur Municipality.