The Special Court has ordered the release of former prime minister and CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal on a bail of 3.5 million rupees.
A bench of Judges Tej Narayan Singh, Ram Bahadur Thapa, and Bidur Koirala issued the order on Wednesday evening, according to the court’s information officer Yagya Raj Regmi.
The bench held a bail hearing after Nepal gave his statement in court on Wednesday morning.
Nepal will be released on Wednesday itself if he posts the bail as ordered by the court.
On June 5, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a case in the Special Court against former prime minister Nepal and 92 others, alleging corruption in the sale and purchase of land registered in the name of Patanjali Yogpeeth and Ayurveda Company in Kavre that was exempted from land ceiling.
Former PM Nepal had filed a petition saying he would appear in person and arrived at the court on Wednesday morning for the bail hearing process.
Senior advocates Shambhu Thapa, Harihar Dahal, Krishna Prasad Bhandari, Khamma Bahadur Khati, Govinda Bandi, Raman Shrestha, and Tikaram Bhattarai argued on behalf of Nepal.
They claimed Nepal was innocent in the Patanjali case and demanded his release on the condition that he would appear whenever summoned by the court.
Senior Advocate Sushil Panta and government attorneys argued on behalf of the CIAA, demanding that Nepal be detained for further investigation. Senior Advocate Panta claimed that the decisions in the Patanjali case were made based on personal influence and pressure rather than policy, presenting the sequence of events to the bench.
Nepal’s lawyers objected to the arguments made by Senior Advocate Panta on behalf of the CIAA. Senior Advocate Shambhu Thapa, arguing for Nepal, objected to Panta’s participation, stating it was against the provision that government attorneys should argue first on behalf of the CIAA.
More than 100 lawyers had registered to argue on behalf of Nepal in the Special Court. However, not all of them argued during the hearing.
The CIAA had sought Rs 185.85 million in damages from Nepal.
In 2010, when Madhav Nepal was prime minister, the Cabinet had approved the purchase of land under the land ceiling exemption. However, the CIAA initiated an investigation after complaints were filed alleging the sale of land exceeding the ceiling in violation of the law.
Nepal remains suspended as lawmaker after the CIAA filed the corruption case against him.
Before filing the case, the CIAA had recorded Nepal’s statement on March 30. In his statement, Nepal said that he had not done anything wrong and that he was ready to face punishment if found guilty of any intentional wrongdoing.
After the CIAA filed the corruption case against Nepal, his party, CPN (Unified Socialist), has been alleging that the case was filed at the behest of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli as political revenge.
Similarly, the Unified Socialist has also accused the CIAA of vengefully reversing its own previous decision that prohibited it from intervening in Cabinet decisions.
