Special Court orders release of NC leader Chalise on Rs 500,000 bail

KATHMANDU: The Special Court has ordered the release of Nepali Congress (NC) leader and former lawmaker Santosh Chalise on bail of Rs 500,000.

A division bench of Special Court judges Narayan Prasad Poudel and Bidur Koirala issued the order on Monday while hearing a case related to the acquisition of illegal property filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

The bench issued the order following a detention hearing after Chalise appeared before the court on Monday morning.

In its chargesheet, the anti-graft body claimed that Chalise amassed Rs 36.847 million in illicit wealth.

Chalise is also a former mayor of Gokarneshwar Municipality and a former chair of the Finance Committee of the dissolved House of Representatives.

Chalise, who was elected to the House of Representatives from Kathmandu-3 in the 2022 elections, was charged by the CIAA in December last year.