The Special Court on Sunday ordered the release of former minister for Communications and Information Technology Mohan Bahadur Basnet on a bail of Rs2.5 million in connection with the Teramocs corruption case.

The decision came from the bench comprising judges Tej Narayan Singh Rai, Ram Bahadur Thapa, and Bidur Koirala, following Basnet’s court appearance for statement recording and a detention hearing.

Basnet, who has been suspended as a member of the House of Representatives after the corruption charges were filed, is one of 16 individuals and two companies accused by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in a Rs3.21 billion scam surrounding the procurement of the Telecommunications Traffic Monitoring and Fraud Control System (Teramocs) for the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA).

The CIAA has accused Basnet of working as the key figure behind the irregularities, alleging that he unilaterally directed the inclusion of the Teramocs system without due process or legal backing during his tenure as minister. The anti-graft body claims Basnet overstepped his jurisdiction, violating the autonomy of the NTA and triggering a precedent of institutional damage.

Alongside Basnet, former law secretary Dhanaraj Gyawali and several former NTA officials have also been named as defendants in the case. The CIAA has demanded recovery of the full damage amount and prison sentences for the accused, citing breaches of procurement laws, bypassing of mandatory procedures, and failure to implement the system as contracted.

Despite the high-profile nature of the case, Basnet has now been granted conditional release as court proceedings continue.