SC allows Thapa, Nihita to walk free

KATHMANDU, Sept 28: Lawyer Shakuntala Thapa and her daughter Nihita Bishwas, who were sentenced to seven-day jail term by the Supreme Court on contempt of court charge on Monday, have been allowed to walk free after they paid a fine of Rs 225 each at the SC on Tuesday.



On Monday, a division bench of SC justices Balram KC and Ramkumar Prasad Shah had sentenced the duo to seven-day imprisonment with a fine of Rs 50 each. [break]



As per the Civil Code, the duo paid Rs 25 per day {for seven days} and additional Rs 50 each in fine at the SC. They also made written commitment before the SC that they would never challenge the sanctity of the Supreme Court in future.



The SC also banned lawyer Thapa, mother-in-law of convicted Charles Sobhraj, from becoming a judge in future.



Bishwas, who claims to be a wife of Sobhraj, and her mother, had used abusive language against the justices while talking to media after the SC delivered a verdict upholding life imprisonment for Sobhraj for murdering an American backpacker in Nepal in 1975.

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