Former additional secretary Dr Sangeeta Mishra and seven others have been acquitted in a corruption case.
A bench of Special Court Judges Narayan Prasad Paudel and Umesh Koirala acquitted the eight individuals in a case involving alleged corruption of Rs 140.68 million during the mammography machine procurement process by the Department of Health Services.
The verdict stated that the allegations against Dr Mishra, Bibek Kumar Lal, Bhuwan Prasad Kafle, Deepak Adhikari, Yadav Prasad Sapkota, Shambhu Prasad Dhakal, Sita Ghimire, and Tilak Ram Dhakal could not be proven.
Regarding Dr Mishra, the court noted that as the director general of the Department of Health Services, she had merely approved specifications, cost estimates, and payment orders based on the documents and notes submitted by the relevant technical and procurement unit staff.
The verdict further stated, "Since the other defendants, including Deepak Adhikari, were only involved in submitting notes based on documents prepared by the relevant technicians and the payment process, the charges against these eight defendants could not be proven by the evidence. Therefore, they are acquitted."
In the same case, the court found former director of the Management Division Dr Shrawan Kumar Thapa, senior health administrator Surendra Kumar Chaurasia, biomedical engineer Ashish Chauhan, Padma Mishra, and Public Health Inspector Sanjay Kumar Sah guilty.
The verdict mentions that these individuals, in collusion with Maxim Incorporation Traders Pvt Ltd and its operator, submitted a false report and fake bills, falsely claiming that goods supplied on September 24, 2024, were supplied on July 8, 2026, to avoid pre-determined penalties for late delivery.
The court sentenced them to four months in prison each and ordered them to pay a proportional share of the Rs 3.83 million penalty for the delayed supply. They must pay Rs 547,817 rupees each.
Additionally, for the offense of providing a false report, they were sentenced to an additional four months in prison and fined Rs 20,000. The court also ordered that the claim amount of Rs 547,817 be recovered from them and deposited as government revenue.
Maxim Incorporation Traders and its operator, Sundar Bhushal, were also found guilty of corruption for acting as accomplices. Bhushal received the same prison sentences and fines as the others.
Furthermore, pursuant to Section 41 of the Crime Victims Protection Act, 2018, each defendant was ordered to pay Rs 21,912 in compensation to be deposited into the Victim Relief Fund.
