The cabinet meeting on February 27 has decided to withdraw 367 cases filed in various district courts against top Maoist leaders like Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Baburam Bhattarai, Hisila Yami and the prime minister's political adviser Devendra Poudel. Most of the 34 cases are serious criminal offenses which include extortion, abduction, murder, and an 11 year-old bank robbery suit. However, the government claims that most of these cases were forged by former governments to falsely implicate the Maoist leaders. Under pressure from the NC, Maoists and the Chure Bhawar Party, nine infamous dacoits who are serving time for looting a passenger bus in Nawalparasi are also being pardoned.Withdrawing genuine cases of political malice is acceptable, but the perpetrators excused by the government have long criminal records.

15 March

Eleven people convicted in Sanjay Lama's murder case and two others including Siraha's Uday Narayan and Banke's Shagir Khan have been granted blanket amnesty from the government. The impending cases against the nine accused were withdrawn following political pressure from the Nepali Congress, in the aftermath of Shiva Poudel's murder. While Khan, a Maoist cadre was serving time for abduction, another convict, Uday Narayan Adgaria is a member of Tarai's powerful armed group led by Jaykrishna Goit and a notorious criminal who was involved in the murder of lawmaker, Krishna Charan Shrestha five years ago.