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Kathmandu, Dec 13:  The Special Court has ordered suspended Undersecretary Tirtha Raj Bhattarai, implicated in a visit visa bribery case at Tribhuvan International Airport, to be released on Rs 2.5million ( Rs 2.5 lakh) bail. One judge had argued that Bhattarai should remain in custody, but the majority ruling prevailed, allowing him to secure bail.

Presiding judges Sudarshan Dev Bhatt and Narayan Prasad Paudel approved the bail, while Judge Dilliratna Shrestha dissented, citing the seriousness of the allegations. Bhattarai faces accusations of taking around Rs 80 lakh in bribes from nearly 260 Nepalis traveling abroad on visit visas. No money was recovered from him, and he denied the charges in his statements, leading the majority to favor bail.

The court also noted that none of the alleged beneficiaries had filed complaints, although the CIAA submitted witness statements from some returning travelers. The judges invoked Section 7(gh) of the Special Court Act, 2059, considering diaries, mobile forensics, and land transactions as grounds for bail. The law allows bail when immediate detention is unnecessary, factoring in potential loss, prison terms, and fines. Bribes of Rs 50 lakh to 1 crore can carry six to eight years of imprisonment.

Judge Shrestha, in dissent, highlighted the gravity of the case, noting that over 154,000 Nepalis traveled abroad between Ashoj 2078 and Jestha 2079, with 42,000 not returning. He stressed Bhattarai’s facilitation of roughly 250 travelers recorded in diaries, mobiles, and laptops, as well as his links to agents and financial support to Kavita Paudel. Shrestha argued that Bhattarai’s sensitive role in immigration and accountability warranted detention under Section 7(n).

As per the court’s majority rule in cases of differing judicial opinions, the bail order of Rs 25 lakh stands, overruling Shrestha’s minority call for incarceration. Bhattarai will be released pending further proceedings in the ongoing investigation.

People’s News Monitoring Service