The Janakpur High Court on Wednesday acquitted former Nepali Congress lawmaker and minister Mohammad Aftab Alam in connection with the 2008 Rautahat blast and subsequent killings, overturning a life sentence handed down by the Rautahat District Court in April 2024.

A division bench of justices Khusi Prasad Tharu and Arjun Maharjan at the court’s temporary bench in Birgunj overturned the lower court’s verdict, ruling that the evidence presented was insufficient to uphold the convictions. The court ordered Alam’s immediate release from custody.

He was subsequently released from Nakkhu Jail in Lalitpur on Wednesday evening.

Alam, along with his brother Mohammad Mahatab Alam and two others—Shekh Saraj and Badri Sahani—had been convicted by the Rautahat District Court of orchestrating a deadly explosion and then killing injured survivors by throwing them into a brick kiln in Rajpur of Rautahat on April 9, 2008. All four had been serving life sentences.

Alam had appealed the district court’s ruling, claiming his innocence. The High Court has now dismissed the charges against him and his co-defendants.

The case dates back to the eve of Nepal’s first Constituent Assembly elections in 2008.

A powerful explosion occurred in a shed in Rajpur, allegedly while bombs were being assembled. It is not clear how many people died in the blast. But those injured in the incident were reportedly burned alive in a brick kiln in a bid to destroy evidence.

A case was filed in November 2019 following a Supreme Court order in 2012 to pursue prosecution.

Alam was arrested on October 13, 2019, and had been in custody at Nakkhu Jail in Lalitpur ever since. The Rautahat District Court had convicted him in April 2024 after a prolonged legal battle, sentencing him and three others to life imprisonment.

While Alam’s supporters welcomed Wednesday’s verdict, victims’ families have expressed concern over the ruling, saying it undermines efforts for justice.

Alam was elected to the Constituent Assembly in 2008 and later served as minister for labour and transport management.

Following his arrest, his son Mohammad Rajik Alam entered politics and was elected mayor of Rajpur Municipality in the 2022 local elections.