Kathmandu, July 12 (PTI): The Nepal Supreme Court yesterday rejected Indian casino king Rakesh Wadhwa’s plea to stay a government order which scrapped his licence to run gambling hubs in the Himalayan nation.

The ministry of tourism and civil aviation had scrapped the Nepal Recreation Centre’s (NRC) licence to operate casinos for its alleged failure to pay taxes amounting to more than Rs 21 crore. Wadhwa is the managing director of the NRC.

However, according to the ministry’s legal officer, Ranjan Aryal, the court decision did not annul licences issued to hotels to operate casinos. The hotels will now decide how they would like to operate the casinos, the officer added.        

The NRC operates the Casino Nepal in the Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza, Casino Anna in Hotel Annapurna, Casino Tara in Hotel Hyatt and Casino Everest in Everest Hotel.

The ministry has given the NRC seven days to clear all its dues. According to Aryal, Wadhwa must pay the dues even after the NRC’s authority to operate the casinos has been annulled. Wadhwa has been absconding and is now holed up in New Delhi for the past five months after the government issued an arrest warrant against him.