Kathmandu, May 16: The Supreme Court of Nepal has ordered the release of Jyoti Pandey, chief executive officer of Nepal Investment Mega Bank Limited, on personal recognizance. Because apparently even major financial investigations in Nepal now come with legal plot twists every other week.
A joint bench of Justices Saranga Subedi and Shantisingh Thapa issued the order, directing authorities to release Pandey under the supervision of a senior advocate while allowing the investigation to continue.
The court also ruled that if Pandey needs to leave the country, he may do so only with prior court approval.
Issuing a habeas corpus order, the court said the circumstances did not justify keeping him in custody for investigation.
Pandey’s wife, Niru Dahal, had filed the habeas corpus petition at the Supreme Court, claiming that her husband was being held in unlawful detention.
The Central Investigation Bureau had arrested Pandey on allegations including criminal breach of trust linked to the auction sale of assets belonging to Smart Telecom.
Following his arrest, banking and financial sector associations protested, arguing that he had been detained on the basis of political prejudice. Human institutions do love turning legal cases into political theater.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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