Supreme Court Orders Release of Former Minister Rajkumar Gupta on Bail

The Supreme Court has ordered the release on bail of former minister Rajkumar Gupta, who was detained in connection with the Pokhara Lichibari corruption case. The Special Court had ordered Rajkumar Gupta to be held in custody for investigation on January 1. Gupta and Ranjita Shrestha face allegations of bribing the land revenue officer with 5.3 million rupees. Kathmandu, May 19.

The Supreme Court bench, led by Justices Sharanga Suvedi and Sunil Kumar Pokharel, overturned the earlier order and directed Gupta’s release on bail on Tuesday. The Supreme Court administration announced the revocation of the previous order and issuance of the bail order via its website. The written order has not yet been released.

The Special Court had deemed the contested evidence more credible than Gupta’s claims and on January 1 had ordered him into immediate custody for investigation. Former Minister Rajkumar Gupta and Ranjita Shrestha are accused of bribing Ramchandra Adhikari, the chief land revenue officer of Kaski, with 5.3 million rupees as a payoff within Kaski district. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has demanded a lump sum penalty of 7.8 million rupees, citing an additional 2.5 million rupees involved in the appointment of Kaski Land Commission chairman Kham Bahadur Pun. Similarly, Sujan Lama has also been charged with corruption and is subject to the same penalty demand for alleged bribery.