Kathmandu, May 25 -- The Supreme Court on Monday directed the concerned government authorities not to arrest former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his spouse, Arzu Rana Deuba.

The top court ruled that the jurisdiction to adjudicate offences investigated by the Department of Money Laundering Investigation lies exclusively with the Special Court. The Kathmandu District Court had issued arrest warrants against the Deubas on April 6. With the top court's ruling, the district court's order has automatically been nullified.

Responding to a writ petition filed on behalf of the Deubas, a division bench of Justices Mahesh Sharma Poudel and Nityananda Pandey issued the interim order on Monday after hearing arguments presented by both the p...