Former speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara on Thursday has appealed against the Kathmandu District Court order to send him to prison for judicial custody in the case of attempting to rape federal parliament secretariat staffer Roshni Shahi.
Registrar at the Patan High Court Baburam Dahal told Setopati that Mahara has filed an application of Thursday demanding revocation of the district court order to send him to Dillibazar Jail for judicial custody and he be released. "He has appealed as per clause 73 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2017 about bail," Dahal said.
He revealed that Mahara's application will be presented to the bench on Friday. It will then enter the hearing process.
The Kathmandu District Court on November 4 had sent Mahara to prison during the course of case deeming that he seems to have attempted to rape Shahi.
Mahara was arrested on October 6 on charge of attempting to rape federal parliament secretariat staffer Roshni Shahi at her rented apartment on September 29.
Recording of Mahara's statement was completed on November 1. He has claimed that he reached near Shahi's apartment that evening but did not meet the victim.
Shahi had claimed an inebriated Mahara reached her rented apartment in Tinkune with a bottle of whiskey when there was no one else in the apartment and raped her.
She had called the police within an hour of the alleged incident and a team from Metropolitan Police Circle, New Baneshwore had immediately reached her rented apartment in Tinkune and recorded details from her.
The video statement recorded by the police at the site of incident that night was considered the strongest evidence in the charge-sheet filed with the court.
Shahi claimed, in the video interview given to journalist Ajay Babu Shiwakoti the next day, that Mahara hurriedly went out after she threatened to complain to police.
The police had recovered broken spectacles and insole of shoe from Shahi's apartment on the night of incident. Tests have showed the power of recovered spectacles is similar to that used by Mahara. This is the second strongest evidence against Mahara.
