KATHMANDU: Two writ petitions filed by medical entrepreneur Durga Prasai were dismissed by the Supreme Court Tuesday, clearing the path for continued police custody and enabling banks to proceed with loan recovery from him.
Prasai was arrested by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) on November 19 from his residence in Bhaktapur for making allegations that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had invested Rs 32 billion in a Cambodian telecommunications company.
He was charged under Section 47 of the Electronic Transactions Act, 2006, with potential additional charges pending.
Following his arrest, his son Nirajan Prasai filed a writ petition on December 17, claiming his detention was illegal and requesting his release.
However, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Nityananda Pandey and Mahesh Sharma Poudel dismissed the petition, extending his time in custody pending further investigation.
On Tuesday, the Ilam bench of the Biratnagar High Court also rejected another writ petition by Prasai, which aimed to halt loan recovery efforts by four banks, including Kumari Bank’s Birtamod branch.
Earlier, interim orders had temporarily stopped the recovery process, but a joint bench of judges Bipul Neupane and Kaji Bahadur Rai refused to continue the injunction.
With these rulings, banks can now resume efforts to recover loans Prasai took for the construction of Purbanchal Cancer Hospital.
He had secured a loan of Rs 2.48 billion through a co-financing agreement with Kumari Bank, Prabhu Bank, Global Bank, and Goodwill Finance, but only Rs 1.74 billion was disbursed.
Prasai, who had publicly campaigned against loan repayments and staged protests, now faces court-mandated repayment.
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