In its decision of November 6, the Committee has asked Nepal government to impartially investigate the disappearance of Surya Prasad Sharma from Baglung, bring those responsible for his disappearance to justice and make reparation for the disappearance.

Sharma had been taken away by the army from his home on 14 January 2002 but has not been seen since.

He had returned home two days earlier after living in hiding for five years as a supporter of the CPN (Maoist) and was preparing to surrender. The then government had pledged amnesty to anyone who left the CPN (Maoist) and joined mainstream politics

When Sharma\'s wife went to the army barracks she was told that he had drowned in the Kaligandaki River when he tried to escape. She filed a writ of habeas corpus at the Supreme Court in 2003, but in February 2005 the court quashed the writ accepting the army version that Sharma had drowned.

The U.N. committee, while considering Sharma\'s case, said that the Nepali state had violated Articles 2, 7, 9 and 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), according to the decision.

Considering the case brought to it by Yasoda Sharma in April 2006, the Committee asked the Nepali state to complete investigations and punish the guilty within 180 days. Yasoda Sharma is the wife of Surya Prasad Sharma.

When the Committee had asked the Nepali state for its response, it had replied in February 2008 that the Committee could not admit the case because domestic remedies had not been exhausted, and even during the emergency, persons were not deprived of the right to seek normal legal remedies.

When it was asked for further clarification, Nepal did not provide any, reads the Committee decision.

Nepal does not yet have a law on enforced disappearances although the Cabinet earlier this week decided to present the disappearance bill in parliament.

\"The decision shows that Surya Prasad Sharma\'s right against torture [Article 7], right to access to a fair trial [Article 2] right to life [Article 10] had been violated and that he had been illegally detained [Article 9],\" said Mandira Sharma of the Advocacy Forum which represented the case in the committee. \"Multiple human rights violations happen when there is an enforced disappearance,

Since Nepal is a signatory to the ICCPR and its Optional Protocol under which the Human Rights Committee can present views on cases brought to it, the decision is legally binding, according to Mandira Sharma .

By being a signatory to the Covenant and that Protocol, Nepal has accepted the jurisdiction of the committee, say lawyers.