Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Special Court has ordered the release of five defendants, including the Director General of the Department of Passport Tirtha Raj Aryal, implicated in the corruption in the passport procurement case on bail.
A division bench of Special Court Judges Narayan Prasad Paudel, Hemanta Rawal and Umesh Koirala issued the order on Monday, directing that the accused be released pending trial upon furnishing the determined bail amounts or equivalent bank guarantees.
According to the court order, Director General of the Department of Passports Tirtha Raj Aryal and contractor’s Nepal agent Manindra Raj Malla have each been asked to post bail of Rs 500,000. Director Sunil Kumar KC has been assigned bail of Rs 400,000. Similarly, department staff Somesh Thapa and Bipin Prasai have each been ordered to furnish bail amount of Rs 300,000 each.
Similarly, department staff Tulsi Prasad Achary and Rajaram Dahal have been released on a general date.
The bench further directed that if the accused fail to deposit the required bail amount or provide a bank guarantee, detention warrants will be issued and they will be sent to the concerned prison in accordance with Rule 30(2) of the Special Court Rules, 2026.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on June 21 filed a corruption case against 18 defendants, including two foreign companies, over alleged irregularities in e-passport procurement worth more than Rs 10 billion.
The two foreign companies include German firms Muehlbauer and Veridos, which won the contract to supply e-passports to Nepal.
