Has Paul Shah been convicted?

District Court, Tanahu has kept actor Purna Bikram Shah (Paul Shah) in custody for trial on the charge of rape.

Some believe that the court's order convicted Shah and sent him to prison. But in reality, he has not been convicted, instead, the court ruled that he could not be acquitted on the basis of preliminary evidence.

Usually, when a complaint is filed, the police start an investigation. If evidence is found during the investigation, the police will bring the person involved under custody. If he is found guilty, the police will file an indictment with evidence in court.

The basic premise of criminal justice is that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, the court conducts a preliminary hearing on the accused who has been presented with the indictment. The statement of the accused is taken at the beginning and he is told what to do till the final process of the case.

There are three options:

• The first option is to keep the accused in custody till the final decision is taken.
• Second, the accused is released on bail.
• And the third procedure is to release the accused on a normal date so that he can be present at the time of the search.

On what basis was such an order made?

A bench of Tanahun District Court Judge Harish Chandra Dhungana concluded that he could not be acquitted on six grounds. A court order has been issued against Paul Shah for the first time.

The district court has also ordered to send the accused to jail saying that the accused Shah also admitted that he had gone to the victim's room at around 12 pm and that the victim, including Durgesh (Durga Bahadur Thapa) who had come to know about the incident, had consulted with them about the rape.

The order said, "Since it was seen that Paul was enticing the minor, he was sent to the prison office, Damauli, Tanahun."

The district court's order against Paul Shah was not repeated in the case of his manager. His manager Krishna Joshi was accused of being a traitor in the rape case. The district court, after looking at all the details, pointed out that only incident report papers were found in Joshi's case. The order said, "Since no other objective evidence is available, the defendant (Krishna Joshi) has not been remanded in custody in connection with the case." The district court has asked him to post bail of Rupees one lakh. If there is no evidence of direct involvement in the incident but evidence of involvement can be found tomorrow, the accused will be released on bail.

What can Paul Shah do now?

Now, the district court in Tanahu has ordered to keep Paul Shah in custody and proceed with the case. As another case against Shah is also pending in the Nawalpur District Court, the police will now present him in the Nawalpur District Court and repeat the same procedure as Tanahun. Now, even if the court in Nawalpur orders his release, it is unlikely that Shah will be released.

If Tanahu's order is not satisfied, actor Shah can file a petition in the Pokhara High Court seeking reversal of the order. As the district court of Nawalpur also falls under Pokhara, any high court can go to Pokhara against its order.

The Pokhara High Court, depending on the district's order, may order one of the three to release him on bail or release him on a common date. That order is not final either. Actor Shah can even come to the Supreme Court against the order of the High Court of Pokhara. Or if he is released on a simple date, the public prosecutor can come to the Supreme Court against that order.

The Supreme Court may also overturn a High Court order. The order of the Supreme Court is final. But the case against Shah will not end with the order from the Supreme Court. Because the main cause of rape against actor Shah is under consideration in Tanahu District Court. The district court will now take the victim's statement, cross-examine witnesses, and understand further evidence.

After all the procedures, including debates between the two sides, are completed, the district court will decide whether Shah is guilty or innocent on the charge of rape, and if found guilty, he will be sentenced to imprisonment after a few days, and compensation will be ordered. If one court convicts him, he has to stay in prison and if both declare him guilty, he will not have to serve separate sentences. Against the subsequent decision of the district court, he or the public prosecutor will have a way to reach the apex court through the high court.