The Special Court has ordered the release of former Land Reform Secretary Chhabiraj Pant on a bail of Rs 500,000.
The bench of Justices Tej Narayan Singh Rai and Murari Babu Shrestha issued the order to release Pant on bail.
Pant was accused by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) of misusing his authority in connection with the land ceiling exemption and land exchange proposal involving Patanjali Yogpeeth. He had presented the proposal to the Cabinet, leading to a corruption case filed against him with a claim of Rs 185.85 million in losses.
In his statement to the court, Pant claimed he had submitted the proposal under pressure from the then Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Chief Secretary Madhav Prasad Ghimire.
Just yesterday, the Special Court also barred former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal from being represented through a legal proxy (warrants of attorney), citing the rule that prohibits proxy representation for individuals facing charges with potential prison sentences of over three years.
