Kathmandu: The Special Court has ordered the release of five individuals accused in the electronic passport (e-passport) procurement case on bail following the completion of closed-door arguments.

The order was issued by a bench comprising Special Court judges Narayan Prasad Poudel, Hemanta Rawal, and Umesh Koirala.

According to Special Court Deputy Registrar and spokesperson Krishna Sharan Lamichhane, the court determined the bail amounts based on the roles of the accused in the case.

Highest Bail Set at Rs 500,000
The court ordered Director General of the Department of Passports Tirtha Raj Aryal and Manindraj Malla, the Nepal representative of the German contracting company involved in the project, to furnish bail of Rs 500,000 each.

Similarly, Sunil Kumar KC, Information Technology Director at the Department of Passports, has been ordered to post Rs 400,000 in bail.

The court also set bail at Rs 300,000 each for Branch Officer Umesh Thapa and Computer Engineer Bipin Prasain.

Two Officials to Face Trial Without Bail
The Special Court ruled that two other officials named in the case—Accounts Officer Tulsi Prasad Acharya and Rajaram Dahal, Under-Secretary (Law) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—will face trial through the regular court process without being required to post bail.

CIAA Investigation into Procurement Irregularities
The case was filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), which alleges financial irregularities and corruption in the procurement process for Nepal's electronic passport system.

The anti-graft body has accused senior officials of the Department of Passports, along with the Nepali representative of the foreign contractor, of involvement in irregularities during the procurement process. The Special Court will now proceed with the trial in accordance with its orders.