KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has allowed Prime Minister Balendra Shah to be represented by a proxy in the contempt of court case, enabling his representative to attend hearings and receive dates on his behalf.

A bench of Justices Hari Phuyal and Shantis Singh Thapa issued the order, meaning Shah will no longer be required to appear in person for every hearing.

Previously, the court had not granted such permission in the case.

The contempt petition against Shah has been pending in the Supreme Court for three years.

It stems from his social media reaction after the Patan High Court issued an interim order not to stop the screening of Hindi films in cinema halls.

Following Shah’s comments at the time, advocate Barsha Jha filed a contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court.