KATHMANDU, July 22: The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the detention of three individuals, including Bhatbhateni Supermarket’s owner Meen Bahadur Gurung, who were arrested in connection with the Lalita Niwas land grab scam.

A joint bench of SC justices Prakash Kumar Dhungana and Nahkul Subedi dismissed the writ filed against their arrest by Sudheer Kumar Shah, Meen Bahadur Gurung, and Dharma Prasad Gautam.

On June 28, the three individuals had filed a writ against the arrest, claiming that their detention was illegal and exceeded the statute of limitation for investigation. However, the joint bench of justices Dhungana and Subedi ruled that the arrest warrants were issued on July 9 as part of an investigation into government seal and organized crime, with the investigation being conducted within the stipulated time frame set by the District Court, Kathmandu.

Additionally, the writ petition filed by 17 other individuals, including Tikaram Ghimire, involved in the same case, was also dismissed. Consequently, the interim order issued by the Supreme Court on July 20, 2022 in their favor stands automatically dismissed. Recently, Kaladhar Deuja, Surendra Man Kapali, and Bhupendra Mani KC were released based on the interim order of July 20, 2022, but they were subsequently re-arrested by the police to allow for further investigation.

SC orders release of Secretary Krishna Bahadur Raut

In a separate ruling related to the Lalita Niwas land grab scam, the SC has ordered the release of Secretary Krishna Bahadur Raut.

The joint bench cited lack of basis, reason, and justification for Secretary Raut's detention, and as a result, the SC has ordered that he be subjected to investigation under Section 15 of the National Criminal Procedure Code. However, Raut is not allowed to leave Nepal until the investigation is completed.

 
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