KATHMANDU, June 30: The Special Court has ordered the release of former minister and Nepali Congress (NC) leader Mohan Bahadur Basnet on bail of Rs 2.5 million in connection with the corruption charges related to the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA)'s purchase of ‘Teramox’ technology.
A joint bench of Justices Tej Narayan Singh Rai, Ram Bahadur Thapa and Bidur Koirala issued the order on Sunday following Basnet’s statement and a detention hearing.
Former state minister, who was held on charge of gambling, rele...
According to the court’s Deputy Registrar Krishnasharan Lamichhane, Basnet has been released on the condition that he posts Rs 2.5 million in cash or provides a bank guarantee of the same amount.
On May 15, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a case at the Special Court against Basnet and 15 others, demanding compensation of Rs 3.21 billion each.
According to the CIAA's charge sheet, Basnet, during his tenure as Minister for Communications and Information Technology, initiated the procurement process of Teramox in a flawed manner. The procurement also breached his ministerial jurisdiction.
The CIAA claimed that Basnet intervened in the autonomy of the Telecommunications Authority and forced the NTA to procure Teramox technology—which was not included in the budget or plans—through a ministerial-level decision.
On September 8, 2017, then-minister Basnet had approved the annual budget of the Telecommunications Authority. The CIAA alleged that no feasibility study was conducted for the procurement process and that the entire process was flawed from the beginning with malicious intent.
