Supreme Court Rejects Habeas Corpus Petition Filed by Former Armed Police DIG Ranjan Prasad Koirala Seeking Release

The habeas corpus petition filed by former Armed Police DIG Ranjan Prasad Koirala, seeking his release from custody, has been dismissed.

A joint bench of Supreme Court Justices Mahesh Sharma Paudel and Balkrishna Dhakal dismissed Koirala's habeas corpus petition.

Koirala, who is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted for the murder of his wife, Gita Dhakal, had approached the Supreme Court with a habeas corpus petition demanding release, claiming he had already served 60 percent of his sentence. In his habeas corpus application, he had previously claimed that 2,400 other inmates were released while he was not, and that he had completed 59 percent of his sentence by Jestha 30, 2081 BS. He argued for his sentence reduction based on compliance with the law and good conduct.

Ranjan was arrested by police in Thankot while returning from Narayangarh to Kathmandu on Magh 8, 2068 BS, and was in custody since then. After the District Court and Appellate Court handed down a life sentence for the murder, the Supreme Court reduced the sentence to 8 years and 6 months on Ashar 15, 2077 BS, leading to his release.

The decision to reduce Ranjan's sentence was made by a joint bench of then Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher JBR and Justice Tej Bahadur KC, citing that the situation was likely to affect the 'care, protection, and education of his minor sons'. Chief Justice Rana and Justice KC reduced his sentence, stating that a life sentence might be 'too harsh' for Koirala. Koirala was sent back to prison after the Supreme Court reviewed that decision.

Kathmandu District Court sentenced him to life imprisonment with confiscation of property on Baisakh 7, 2071 BS. The then Appellate Court Patan upheld this decision on Mangsir 23, 2072 BS.