Kathmandu, June 13: The Lalitpur Appellate Court today granted bail to the six accused in the controversial Lauda Air deal. The joint bench of justice Bhupdhoj Adhikari and Buddikant Mainali granted bail to six persons upon the completion of their interrogation today.

Those granted bail today are Hari Bhakta Shrestha, Tirtha Lal Shrestha, Siddha Raj Joshi, Gauri Nath Sharma, Pushkar Wagle and Upendra Prasad Upadhyaya. The bail amount varies from person to person. According to the court order, Hari Bhakta Shrestha and Tirtha Lal Shrestha are required to present Rs 40 million and Rs 35 million respectively, Gaurinath Sharma and Siddha Raj Joshi Rs 2.5 million each, while Pushkar Wagle and Upendra Prasad Upadhyaya are required to pay Rs 1.5 million each.

The court has also issued an order to send the accused to jail if the six fail to present the bail money.
The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a lawsuit against ten
persons including former Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Tarini Dutta Chataut accusing them of
being involved in irregularities in the Boeing aircraft lease deal between Royal Nepal Airlines
Corporation and the Austrian Lauda Air for 18 months.

Former Minister Tarini Dutta Chataut however
has not presented himself before the court.