Ex-Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand called 'High Sense' as AGs of all three governments remain silent

Kathmandu, 1 Mangsir: Former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand, facing charges of fraud, organized crime, and offenses against the state, is being released due to political protection.

Benefiting from political shielding, Khand was released on bail by the Patan High Court, yet the Attorney General’s (AG) Office has not filed an appeal to the Supreme Court against him. Previously, both the governments led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and later KP Sharma Oli had adopted similar lenient approaches, and even after the formation of the new government, the AG’s Office has not taken any action for two months.

Under Nepalese law, in criminal cases seeking three years or more in prison, a court may issue one of several orders: to remand the accused to custody, release them on bail, or grant ordinary release. In Khand’s case, linked to the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal, the District Court of Kathmandu had ordered him to be taken into custody. Khand then appealed to the Patan High Court, where the two presiding judges were divided in their opinion.

After seven months in jail, former Minister Khand was released on 28 Mangsir 2080 (Nepali calendar) by the Patan High Court. Meanwhile, others accused of similar offenses, including UML leader and former Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and former Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, remained in custody while Khand was released on a bail of just NPR 60,000.

Typically, if the government’s legal team is dissatisfied with a lower court’s order, they appeal to a higher court. In this case, the AG’s Office should have approached the Supreme Court against the Patan High Court’s order. If someone accused in a case carrying over three years of imprisonment is released on bail, government lawyers usually appeal to the higher court.

The AG’s Office in Patan had forwarded a file recommending an appeal to the Supreme Court against Khand’s bail order. However, for two years, the office has not taken any decision.

Before Khand’s release, Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba had publicly commented on his case, urging people not to worry and expressing unusual interest in the ongoing proceedings. Against this backdrop, the Patan High Court released Khand on bail.

Judge Janak Pandey had favored releasing Khand on bail, while Judge Prakash Kharel argued that Khand should remain in custody, endorsing the District Court’s order. With the judges divided, the case was referred to a third judge, Krishna Ram Koirala, whose support would decide the outcome. Judge Koirala supported Judge Pandey’s opinion, resulting in Khand’s release after depositing NPR 3 million as bail.

At the time of Khand’s release, Pushpa Kamal Dahal was Prime Minister and Dr. Dinmani Pokhrel was the Attorney General. The coalition government led by Dahal, which included Congress, reportedly showed leniency toward influential Congress leaders, directly influencing the AG’s Office.

After the Maoist-led government fell, a coalition of UML and Congress formed the government, with KP Sharma Oli as Prime Minister and Ramesh Badal appointed Attorney General. That government, in power for 14 months, also did not file an appeal to the Supreme Court against Khand.

Following the Jenji Movement, the government led by Sushila Karki appointed Senior Advocate Savita Bhandari Baral as Attorney General. Two months into her tenure as government advisor, sources at the AG’s Office stated: “There is still no initiative to take the Supreme Court against the Patan High Court’s order regarding Bal Krishna Khand.”

On 1 Asar 2080, District Court Judge Prem Prasad Nyaupane had ordered Khand and Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey to custody for similar reasons. The UNHCR had suspended the refugee process, and a joint verification team could not authenticate 429 individuals. The court deemed forming a new task force in this context as “malicious intent.”

The District Court relied on the task force report, supplementary documents, a complaint by Premraj Panthi, and communications between Keshav Prasad Dulal and Secretary Pandey. Pandey’s statement to the police indicated Khand’s involvement in the offense.

Similarly, the court found UML suspended Secretary and MP Top Bahadur Rayamajhi linked to the case based on bank transactions and a recovered diary from Sanu Bhandari’s house. While other involved figures like Rayamajhi and Tek Narayan Pandey remained in custody, the Patan High Court allowed Khand bail. Facing public scrutiny, the AG’s Office did not appeal to the Supreme Court, leaving the file inactiv