The Special Court has ordered former minister Rajkumar Gupta to be remanded in judicial custody in connection with the Batulechaur, Pokhara land controversy and a bribery scandal exposed earlier this year.

A division bench of Special Court chair Sudarshan Dev Bhatta and members Dilli Ratna Shrestha and Bidur Koirala issued the order on Wednesday after recording Gupta’s statement and conducting a detention hearing. The court ruled that he should remain behind bars while the case proceeds.

Gupta was embroiled in controversy after a leaked audio clip surfaced in which he was allegedly heard negotiating a Rs7.8 million bribe to secure a political appointment and transfer a government official in Kaski district.

The audio, involving Gupta and a broker, triggered widespread public and political backlash. In the recording, the broker is heard requesting Gupta to call the then minister for land management, cooperatives and poverty alleviation to help appoint Khem Bahadur Pun as chair of the District Land Commission, Kaski.

Faced with mounting pressure, Gupta was forced to resign on July 15. In a statement posted on social media, he claimed he was a victim of “technology misuse” but called for a fair investigation.