The Supreme Court (SC) is set to review its verdict in a case related to the suspension of Nepali Congress lawmaker Tek Bahadur Gurung, who was convicted in a corruption case.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a petition for review of the SC's decision to lift lawmaker Gurung's suspension and pave the way for him to enter Parliament. Hearing the petition on Thursday, a bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla, Bal Krishna Dhakal, and Nripa Dhwaj Niraula granted permission to review the verdict.
On March 29 last year, a bench of SC Justices Manoj Sharma and Binod Sharma had revoke Gurung's suspension as lawmaker, paving the way for him to enter Parliament.
Gurung, who was elected to the House of Representatives from Manang, was suspended from his post as lawmaker on the basis of a letter to the Parliament Secretariat from the CIAA on December 27, 2022. He had filed a petition against his suspension on March 4, 2024.
The apex court had scrapped the notice issued by the Parliament Secretariat, the CIAA decision dated December 23, 2022, and the correspondence made on the basis of it. The CIAA had filed for review of the court’s decision on July 2 last year.
The Federal Parliament Secretariat issuing a notice on December 27, 2022, had stated that Gurung was suspended as the corruption case lodged against him by the CIAA was sub judice at the Special Court.
The Secretariat had said that he was suspended as per the legal provision of automatic suspension until acquittal from the corruption case.
The Special Court had found nine persons including Gurung guilty in a corruption case on February 28, 2023, but it did not jail him and only fined him. The provisions for ineligibility of lawmaker require the person to be jailed and not just ruled guilty in criminal cases including corruption.
Gurung had then lodged a writ petition at the SC on March 5, 2023, demanding revocation of the suspension arguing that he was not jailed in the case and pointing at other discrepancies in the process of suspension. The SC issued the writ demanded by Gurung on March 29.
Gurung was found guilty of committing corruption by charging a lower rate of rent while he was director of the Fun Park at Bhrikuti Mandap.
