The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has yet to appeal against the Patan High Court’s decision to grant bail to Nepali Congress (NC) central member and former home minister Bal Krishna Khand in the fake Bhutanese refugees scam.
The bench of Judge Krishna Ram Koirala on December 14, 2023 had ordered release of Khand on a bail of Rs 3 million. But the public prosecutors have yet to appeal against the verdict with the Supreme Court.
The bench had also ordered release of exiled pro-democracy Bhutanese leader Tek Nath Rizal on a bail of Rs 1.50 million, son of CPN-UML leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Sandip, on bail of Rs 3 million, president of Nepal Hajj Committee Shamsher Miya Rs 1 million, Khand’s personal secretary Narendra KC Rs 1 million, and Hari Bhakta Maharjan and Ram Sharan KC Rs 1.50 million each.
The bench had ordered that UML leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, former secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, Sanu Bhandari, Keshav Dulal, Indrajit Rai, Sagar Rai, Govinda Kumar Chaudhary, Sandesh Sharma and Ang Tawa Sherpa be kept in judicial custody until the Kathmandu District Court issues verdict in the case.
The public prosecutors generally appeal with the higher court whenever anyone charged of serious crime are released on bail or date. But the OAG has not appealed against Khand’s bail in almost four months.
The Patan High Court Attorney Office wrote to the OAG expressing dissatisfaction with the court’s order to release the accused on bail two months ago but the OAG has yet to move the process forward.
An official with the Patan High Court Attorney Office has confided with Setopati that the OAG has not appealed against bail of even other accused due to Khand.
Attorney General Din Mani Pokharel has told Setopati that he does not know what is happening on the matter when asked why the OAG has not appealed against release of the accused including Khand on bail, and instead directed Setopati to ask the spokesperson.
“Spokesperson’s duty is just to read out the decision. No decision has been taken on that,” Spokesperson with the OAG Surya Raj Dahal has told Setopati.
The District Government Attorney’s Office (DGAO), Kathmandu, has made 30 individuals defendants in the case. Twenty of them were arrested while 10 others are still at large. The DGAO had filed cases of fraud, organized crime, forgery and offense against the state against them on May 24, 2023 on the basis of the investigation report submitted by the police.
The Kathmandu District Court on June 16, 2023 had ordered to send 17 of them to judicial custody and released three on bail.
The 20 defendants had then moved the Patan High Court against the Kathmandu District Court’s order.
The Patan High Court hearing the appeal of 20 defendants had then ordered release of several accused including Khand.
