Kathmandu, Aug. 19 -- In early May, days after Shekhar Golchha was arrested, the Supreme Court found his detention illegal, explicitly citing the bypassing of due process. But within hours of his release, a team from the Central Investigation Bureau rearrested him on a separate insurance-fraud allegation. A CIB official told reporters the new case was entirely unrelated to the one the court had just thrown out. Last month, Golchha was released on bail for Rs10 million.

It's a small scene, but it captures something the Balendra Shah administration hasn't resolved yet. A government can pursue accountability and still overreach. The question is whether this one can tell the difference - and whether it can keep doing both at once.

Nepal's a...