Former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi is set to be released from prison on November 12 after a court order granted him a sentence reduction under provisions for senior citizens.
Rayamajhi, who was convicted in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam and is currently serving his sentence at Dilli Bazar Prison, has been ordered released by the Kathmandu District Court on November 12.
Bikram Pandey, the prison’s jailer, said that a letter directing the prison to release Rayamajhi on that date arrived on Monday.
“He had filed an application seeking the benefit available to senior citizens aged 65. An order directing his release on November 12 arrived at the prison yesterday,” Pandey said.
On July 14, the Kathmandu District Court convicted Rayamajhi and sentenced him to four years in prison. He has been in custody since November 2023.
After the court handed down his sentence, Rayamajhi applied for a sentence reduction under the provisions for senior citizens.
Last Friday, a bench led by Judge Rajendra Singh Bhandari decided to grant him the benefit and ordered his release.
Section 12 of the Senior Citizens Act, 2006, provides for a sentence reduction of up to 25 percent for senior citizens who are at least 65 but under 70 years old.
Rayamajhi was convicted of fraud, offenses against the state, and organized crime.
He was sentenced to two years in prison and fined Rs 20,000 for fraud; three years in prison and fined Rs 30,000 for organized crime; and 18 months in prison and fined Rs 15,000 for offenses against the state. For integrated offenses, he was sentenced to four years in prison and fined Rs 40,000.
Although the maximum prison sentence he was required to serve was four years, he was still required to pay the fines imposed for all the offenses. With the sentence reduction granted under the senior-citizen provisions, he is now set to be released on November 12.
