Kathmandu, Dec. 7: Patan High Court has issued a short term interim order to not proceed with the controversial transaction of Ncell shares.

A single bench of Judge Purushottam Prasad Dhakal on Thursday issued the prohibition order against Ncell, the private sector telecom company in Nepal. Stating that it is mandatory for the company to take approval of the regulator, the High Court ordered to halt the shares trading of Ncell until December 11.  

Axiata Group, which partnered with Ncell in 2016, announced its exit from the company last week. Axiata had bought 80 percent of Reynolds Holding's shares in Ncell for Rs 143 billion. After seven years, the selling of the same shares for just 4.65 percent of the purchase price, i.e. 95.35 percent less than the sale price, has raised suspicion of ulterior motives to secure undue benefits.

In response to a case registered against Ncell's current investor Axiata and the owner and manager of Sunivera Capital Ventures, which is considered to be a local partner, the Patan High Court has issued a short-term order against the deal. The writ petitioner has claimed that the deal involves embezzlement of foreign currency and money laundering.