KATHMANDU: The Special Court has ordered the release of former Executive Director of the National Information Technology Center (NITC), Sunil Paudel, on bail of Rs 100,000.
On July 12, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a case at the Special Court, accusing Paudel of collusion in the procurement of substandard and overpriced equipment for the “High Compute Infrastructure” project in fiscal year 2019/20 without a master plan.
Along with Paudel, the CIAA filed charges against four other NITC employees, contractor company World Distribution Nepal Pvt. Ltd., and its chair Arun Shrestha, demanding a fine equivalent to Rs 158.8 million.
A bench comprising court chair Tek Narayan Kunwar and members Murari Babu Shrestha and Vidur Koirala issued the bail order on Sunday.
However, Paudel will not be released solely on this order, as he has already been convicted in another corruption case involving irregularities in the payment gateway system. In that case, the Special Court sentenced him to nine years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 232.7 million.
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