The Supreme Court of Nepal has scheduled a hearing on a petition filed by former minister Rajkumar Gupta, who is currently in judicial custody in connection with the Lichibari corruption case.
The case has been listed for hearing before a joint bench of Justices Sharanga Subedi and Nityananda Pandey.
Gupta had filed the petition seeking to overturn the order issued by the Special Court Nepal, which had directed that he be kept in custody for trial in the Lichibari land corruption case in Pokhara. The Special Court bench, comprising Chairperson Sudarshan Dev Bhatt and Judges Dilliratna Shrestha and Bidur Koirala, had ordered his detention for further proceedings.
The corruption case was filed at the Special Court after evidence allegedly showed that then Minister Gupta had taken a bribe of Rs 5.3 million from a real estate entrepreneur, promising to halt the transfer of the chief official at the Land Revenue Office in Kaski and to appoint him as a member of the Land Commission.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has also accused Minister Gupta and former minister Ranjita Shrestha of colluding to abuse their authority and accepting a bribe of Rs 2.5 million in exchange for providing official favors.
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