The Special Court has ordered the release of former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Rs 3.5 million bail in a high-profile Patanjali Yogpeeth land scam case.
After hearing arguments from both complainants and defendants, a bench comprising judges Tej Narayan Singh Rai, Ram Bahadur Thapa, and Bidur Koirala issued the bail order.
On June 5, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a graft case worth Rs 180 million in the Special Court, alleging that Nepal, during his tenure as the Prime Minister, illegally authorized land concessions beyond legal limits, enabling financial wrongdoing.
In 2009, the Council of Ministers, led by then Prime Minister Nepal, had unlawfully allowed the Patanjali Yogpeeth and Ayurveda Company to purchase and later sell land in Kavre, which was originally meant for non-commercial use, claims the anti-graft body.
The CIAA accuses Nepal’s cabinet of illegally granting Patanjali, a non-profit Ayurveda company, permission to purchase 815 ropanis of land in Kavrepalanchowk in 2010 for an Ayurvedic university. Investigations later revealed that 353 ropanis of this land were illegally sold to a private business entity, Kasthamandap Business.
However, Nepal, currently chairman of CPN (Unified Socialist), denies wrongdoing. His advocates, including Shambhu Thapa, argued that the decision was administrative, not criminal.
The Land Act, 1964 restricts individuals from holding more than 25 ropanis of land in Kathmandu, 11 bighas in Terai and 75 ropanis in hilly areas without special exemptions. The CIAA claims the Nepal’s government violated these rules, allowing Patanjali to misuse the land for commercial purposes.
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