While there have been increasing reports of fatalities and injuries to Bhutanese pilgrims in India, there are also growing accounts of Bhutanese pilgrims feeling duped and cheated on the booming pilgrimage tours organized from Bhutan. The Bhutanese talked to three recently returned Bhutanese pilgrims all of whom had a harrowing …

High drama after high profile defamation suit ends with withdrawal The much publicized defamation suit by Sonam Phuntsho, also known as Ap SP, against Namgay Zam and Dr Shacha Wangmo legally ended after Ap SP withdrew the case, a day before the verdict given on 24th January 2017. However, the …

The SC says it did the right thing under the circumstances On 18th August 2016, a joint bench of Justice Tashi Chozom and Justice Rinzin Penjore of the Supreme Court passed its verdict on Dr Shacha Wangmo’s mother Tandin Bidha versus Sonam Phuntsho case. The verdict essentially said that Tandin …

With the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) not appealing the Dasho Benji case verdict the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will now be following due legal process, as outlined for it by the District Court order, which directed the OAG to coordinate the sedition investigation. The District Court in its …

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) are headed into another headlong clash, this time over the Trongsa land case that implicates the former Trongsa Dzongda Lhab Dorji, his wife and other local government figures at the time. On one side the ACC is …

Govt to not interfere with BICMA’s decision The producer of the movie ‘Hema Hema: Sing me a song while I wait,’ Pawo Choyning Dorji has written a letter, dated 18th January to the Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (BICMA) pointing out what he sees as anomalies in BICMA’s decision to …

However, legal opinions differ on the matter   The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will await the appeal process by either the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) or Dasho Benji before it starts coordinating any investigation on the prima facie sedition case against DPT. It is unlikely that Dasho Benji …

The Bench five district court verdict on the Dasho Benji case created a stir not only for the case verdict and directions to investigate sedition charges, but also its assertion that Dzongkha is not the court language. The verdict in its ‘Court Findings’ section, justifying why it accepted the submissions …

Following the National Day address by His Majesty The King in Trongsa all Financial Institutions in a meeting with the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) voluntarily pledged to enhance credit and support to agricultural projects as a priority sector. However, the only condition of the banks was that the Ministry of …

For a sizeable some, one of the main challenges of going to court in Bhutan is fighting the case in the ‘court’s language,’ Dzongkha, especially since it involves a lot of writing and submission of difficult legal terms in Dzongkha. This is a field mastered only by a select few …