The Special Court has acquitted former communications minister and Nepali Congress leader Mohan Bahadur Basnet in the corruption case related to the procurement of Telecommunication Traffic Monitoring and Fraud Control System (Teramocs) technology for the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA).
A bench comprising judges Hemanta Rawal, Dilli Ratna Shrestha, and Umesh Koirala delivered the verdict on Monday.
According to the judgment, the Ministry of Communications, had granted policy approval for international call monitoring (ICM), VoIP control, and the implementation of the Digital Nepal concept in the annual programs for fiscal year 2017-18. The ministry had also instructed that the budget and programs be implemented economically and in full compliance with prevailing laws and procedures.
The court stated that after the policy directive was issued, the responsibility for its implementation, technical preparations, infrastructure development, and procurement process lay with the bodies concerned. No evidence was found that the minister or the ministry had interfered in the process, it added.
The judgment further stated that Basnet's involvement in any procurement process following the policy decision could not be established. It also ruled that the prosecution had failed to present objective evidence that Basnet had personally benefited from the procurement process.
On these grounds, the court acquitted Basnet of the charges filed against him.
However, the court convicted the other defendants – Digambar Jha, Dhan Raj Gyawali, and Tika Prasad Upreti – in the same case.
