Supreme Court to Hear Former Minister Rajkumar Gupta's Plea in Pokhara Land Scam Case

Kathmandu. The Supreme Court is set to hear the petition filed by former minister Rajkumar Gupta. Gupta filed the petition in the Supreme Court against the order by the Special Court to send him to custody for pre-trial detention in connection with the Lichhiwari bribery case in Kaski.

Gupta's petition has been scheduled for hearing in the joint bench of Supreme Court Justices Hari Prasad Phuyal and Shrikanta Paudel.

Previously, the Supreme Court had ordered the Special Court to seek a counter-affidavit on former minister Gupta's petition. The bench comprising Special Court Chairman Sudarshan Dev Bhatta and Justices Dilliratan Shrestha and Bidur Koirala had ordered the pre-trial detention in the Lichhiwari corruption case in Pokhara.

A corruption case was filed in the Special Court alleging that the then Minister Gupta took a bribe of 5.3 million rupees from a real estate businessman, claiming he would stop the transfer of the Chief Officer of the Land Revenue Office in Kaski and get him appointed as a member of the Land Commission.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had accused Minister Gupta and former minister Ranjita Shrestha of taking a bribe of 2.5 million rupees for providing official favors through mutual collusion and abuse of office.

In his statement to the court, Gupta claimed that the allegations against him were false and that he had not taken any bribes from anyone. However, the court determined, based on the evidence immediately available, that he could not be considered innocent.