Kathmandu District Court has acquitted former speaker of the House of Representatives Krishna Bahadur Mahara in a rape case.

Issuing a final verdict today, a single bench of judge Ambar Raj Poudel gave clean chit to Mahara, who was accused of raping a woman employee at the Parliament secretariat.

Kathmandu District Court had sent Mahara to judicial custody on November 4.

He was arrested by Kathmandu police after Roshani Shahi, a staffer at the Parliament Secretariat filed an FIR last October 4, accusing him of attempting to rape her on the night of September-29, in her rented room at Tinkune.

Mahara had earlier filed a petition at Patan High Court on Novem ber 21, challenging the Kathmandu District Court’s decision to send him to judicial custody. The high court upheld the KDC’s decision in its ruling on December 19.

Kathmandu District Attorney’s Office had filed case against Mahara seeking seven-and-half-years jail sentence — five years for attempt to rape and two-and-half-years for committing the crime by misusing the power of office.

Mahara was arrested on October 6 in response to the FIR filed by Shahi.