Former Home Minister Balkrishna Khand to Fight Fake Bhutanese Refugee Case Outside Jail

Kathmandu. Former Home Minister Balkrishna Khand, who was found guilty of complicity in the state against the crime in the fake Bhutanese refugee case from the Kathmandu District Court, will be able to fight the case from outside jail.

The bench of District Court Judge Tejbhadur Khadka on Tuesday sentenced Khand to 2 years in prison and a fine of 20,000. Khand has already served 8 months in jail. According to the court's decision, Khand will now have to serve 1 year and 4 months in jail.

Although the District Court sentenced Khand to two years in prison, he is currently out on bail by order of the High Court Patan.

The District Court's decision is not final. He can appeal to the High Court Patan against this decision.

Since the sentence is only 2 years, he can request the High Court to 'allow him to fight the case from outside jail' when appealing, and the court may grant it.

Although the District Court found him guilty, since the sentence period is short (less than 10 years), there is no mandatory situation for him to stay in jail until the appeal is decided.

Section 137 of the Muluki Criminal Procedure Code, 2074 of Nepal provides for the facility to fight the case from outside jail when appealing to the upper court in cases where the sentence is less than 10 years.

If Khand appeals to the High Court stating that he is not satisfied with the District Court's decision and the court accepts his application, he will be able to stay outside jail until the case is decided.

However, if he does not appeal, he will have to serve the remaining 1 year and 4 months of the 2-year sentence and pay the fine of 20,000.