Supreme Court Orders Investigation Against Durga Prasain to Be Completed Within Two Days or Release Him on Bail

Kathmandu — The Supreme Court has ordered that the investigation against businessman Durga Prasain be completed within two days, and if not possible, he be released on bail.

A joint bench of Justices Binod Sharma and Nityananda Pandey on Friday ordered that the investigation be concluded and a case filed within the second extended deadline, failing which Prasain is to be released on bail.

Prasain was arrested from Hotel Siddhartha Diyalo in Birgunj on Jestha 4 under an urgent arrest warrant on charges of committing offences against the state. The police, who obtained three days for investigation the following day, were granted an additional four-day extension on Thursday. As that deadline expires on Sunday, the court has ordered that the investigation be completed by that day, and if not, he be released.

The joint bench dismissed the habeas corpus petition but issued a special mandamus in the name of the respondents, taking into account Prasain’s health condition. The order notes that Prasain is suffering from throat cancer and requires regular treatment and medical follow-up, and as there is no objective basis to suggest that he would abscond or destroy evidence, conducting the investigation while he remains out of custody would make no material difference.