Himal Press 
LUMBINI: Lumbini Province Assembly member Dhan Bahadur KC was released from prison on Monday, just a day after being sent there to serve a 30-year-old sentence.
KC, who was found guilty of forgery in a property dispute with his wife back in 1991, surrendered at the Rukum East District Court on Sunday. The court subsequently ordered his imprisonment to serve a one-year sentence.
However, KC was able to secure his release by taking advantage of a provision in the Criminal Code. Section 155 of the National Criminal Procedure (Code) Act, 2017, allows individuals sentenced to less than a year in prison to avoid imprisonment by making payment of money in lieu of imprisonment. KC paid a total of Rs 109,200 – or Rs 300 per day of his original one-year sentence.
Acting Registrar of the district court Radha Krishna Rijal said the bench of District Judge Lok Bahadur Hamal ordered KC’s release after the payment was made.
The Rukum District Court in 1991 had convicted KC for forging documents related to his wife’s property claims. He was sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of Rs 2,000. However, he had managed to evade authorities for decades.
KC was elected to the Lumbini Province Assembly from Rukum East – 1(A) on a Nepali Congress ticket in the 2022 election.
Province assembly member KC begins serving 33-year-old jail sentence
