Biratnagar, December 18
The High Court in Biratnagar has dismissed a writ petition filed by medical entrepreneur Durga Prasai against banks, paving the way for loan recovery through the auction of his collateral.
Prasai, who had initiated a campaign against repaying bank loans, had borrowed over Rs 2 billion from four banks to operate the Purbanchal Cancer Hospital. When the banks pressed for repayment, Prasai filed a writ petition at the Ilam Bench of the High Court in Biratnagar, seeking a stay order. The bench, comprising Chief Judge Bipul Neupane and Judge Kaji Bahadur Rai, rejected the petition on Tuesday.
The writ, filed on Prasai’s behalf by Tikaram Adhikari, targeted Kumari Bank’s Birtamod branch and three other banks. With its dismissal, the banks are now cleared to proceed with loan recovery.
Prasai had borrowed to run the Purbanchal Cancer Hospital but, over the past two years, had publicly declared his intention not to repay the loans, instead calling for them to be waived. His campaign had disrupted the operations and loan recovery efforts of microfinance institutions working in rural areas.
The Information Officer of the Ilam Bench, Yugen Kaji Bantawa, stated that the court found Prasai’s petition unfit for further legal consideration. The court observed that the matter of loan contracts was already addressed in previous legal proceedings and deemed the petitioner’s request irrelevant due to expired documentation.
Prasai had filed the writ on June 23, 2023, requesting an injunction against the banks, which led the court to issue a show-cause order on June 25, 2023. After 18 scheduled hearings, with nine postponements, the court finally delivered its verdict on Tuesday.
The decision enables the banks to recover the loans, and if Prasai fails to repay, the collateral can now be auctioned.
Prasai, who had previously been allowed to proceed with operating B&C Medical College following a Supreme Court decision earlier this year, is currently in police custody. He faces allegations of links to an individual arrested for threatening Nepali businesspersons in the name of Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
Prasai was also arrested on November 20 for spreading rumours against former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli through a fake video. While the District Court in Kathmandu released him on Rs 40,000 bail under the Electronic Transactions Act, he remains in custody as investigations continue into charges of organised crime and illicit gains.
