The Special Court has acquitted Baikuntha Aryal who was suspended from chief secretary after registration of a corruption case by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).
The constitutional anti-graft body had accused Aryal and 11 others of committing irregularities while purchasing excise duty stickers. It sought claims of Rs 386.72 million from the defendants.
The other defendants in the case were Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Ritesh Kumar Shakya, Deputy Director General of the Department of Customs Tanka Prasad Pandey, then executive director of the Security Printing Center Bikal Paudel, then director of the Inland Revenue Department Ganesh Bikram Shahi, then director of the National Information Technology Center Safal Shrestha, Rabindra Paudel, accounts officer Bishnu Prasad Gautam, section officer at the Security Printing Center Hari Ballabh Paudel, procurement consultant Shakti Prasad Shrestha, Print Cell Private Limited and its director Keshav Sharma.
The bench of Judges Tek Narayan Kunwar, Khushi Prasad Tharu and Ritendra Thapa on Wednesday has acquitted Aryal ruling that the bench cannot deem the then chairman of the Security Printing Development Committee to be guilty on the basis of estimation, suspicion and whims pointing that there is no clear evidence to establish that he took the decision with ill intention in connivance with other defendants or recklessness.
The Special Court, however, has found that the then executive director of the Security Printing Center Bikal Paudel and the then director of the National Information Technology Center Safal Shrestha connived to committ corruption to cause material loss of Rs 34.228 million.
The Special Court has scheduled another hearing on December 10 to announce quantum of punishment for Paudel and Shrestha.
The bench has also acquitted procurement consultant Shakti Shrestha, accounts officer Bishnu Prasad Gautam and section officer at the Security Printing Center Hari Ballabh Paudel.
Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Ritesh Kumar Shakya, then director of the Inland Revenue Department Ganesh Bikram Shahi, Deputy Director General of the Department of Customs Tanka Prasad Pandey and section officer Rabindra Paudel have also been given clean chit by the court.
With the registration of the case on June 23, Chief Secretary Aryal was automatically suspended from his post according to Section 33 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002.
“In case any public servant is detained pursuant to Clause (c) of Subsection (1) of Section 28, Sub-section (3) of Section 30 and Section 31, he shall ipso facto be suspended for the period of detention and if a case is filed against him/her pursuant to Section 36, he/she shall ipso facto be suspended unless and until the proceedings of the case is over,” Section 33 of the Act states.
Section 17 of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Act, 1991, also has provisions relating to automatic suspension of a public servant.
“In case any person holding a public post being is detained by the commission under Section 16 or Sub-section (4) of Section 19, such person shall be deemed to have been ipso facto suspended from his/her post for a period of such detention, and if a case has been filed against him/her in the Court under Section 18, he/she shall be deemed to have been so suspended until the case is disposed off,” says Section 17 of the Act. “The person so suspended shall be deemed unfit for any post in government offices or public institutions or any other post which may cause financial burden to the loan or grant received by the Government of Nepal.”
Aryal was appointed chief secretary of the Nepal government according to the Cabinet decision on June 15 last year.
