Bar Council reprimands lawyer Rudra Pokharel over bribery attempt

Kathmandu, November 12 — The Disciplinary Committee formed by the Nepal Bar Council has decided to impose only a reprimand on advocate Rudra Prasad Pokharel, who offered a bribe to the District Court judge in Kathmandu. He was penalized according to the Code of Conduct for Lawyers and Section 11 of the Nepal Bar Association Act, 1993.

Pokharel, a former official of the Nepal Bar, had offered a bribe of 20 million rupees to the then District Court judge Rajkumar Koirala in June 2022.

He had proposed giving the 20 million rupees as a bribe to the judge in order to secure bail for Civil Cooperative Chairman Ichha Raj Tamang at the Kathmandu District Court. However, the judge had sent Tamang to judicial custody for further investigation, which led to the exposure of the bribery attempt.

On Tuesday, the Bar Council decided to reprimand Pokharel as per the Code of Conduct for Lawyers, confirmed Council Secretary Shriram Khanal. This decision came after an audio recording surfaced in which Pokharel was heard offering a 20 million rupees bribe to secure bail for Tamang, who had been accused of embezzling money from the Civil Cooperative.

Following the audio leak, both the Judicial Council and the Nepal Bar Council conducted an investigation. The Judicial Council cleared the judge of any involvement and allowed him to resume his duties, while Pokharel was banned from arguing cases.

Although the law provides for the revocation of a lawyer’s certification under Section 13 of the Act, the Council decided to impose only a reprimand in Pokhrel’s case. 

Pokhrel had been unreachable during the Council’s investigation. Despite a public notice being issued, giving him the opportunity to defend himself, he did not respond, leading the Council to make this decision.

What had Happened?

Ichha Raj Tamang, a former Constituent Assembly member from the CPN-UML, was arrested after he was accused of embezzling public funds from Civil Cooperative and Civil Homes. The case had been stalled for a long time due to alleged interference from government attorneys. The then Attorney General, Agni Kharel, was even accused of attempting to delay the case, though these allegations could not be proven.

In December 2021, the government attorney’s office filed a case against Tamang, claiming a 5.63 billion rupee financial loss due to the embezzlement of deposits from Civil Cooperative. The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the police investigated the matter and filed the case in the District Court. 

During the hearing of the case, a conversation between the lawyer and the judge took place. On December 29, 2021, Judge Koirala ordered the detention of Tamang and Civil Cooperative Chairman Keshav Lal Shrestha for further investigation, despite Pokhrel’s attempts to negotiate a deal for their release.

Pokhrel had tried to strike a deal to assure his client’s bail by offering money to Judge Koirala. He had recorded the conversation on his mobile and shared it with his side. Pokharel proposed giving 20 million rupees to the judge, and also suggested that some part of the money should go to the then Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana.

According to the deal, the money was handed over, but the judge's decision to detain Tamang led to the issue being exposed. The dispute came to light when the audio was made public.

Pokharel denied giving money directly to Judge Koirala, claiming he had submitted it to the Judicial Council. After an investigation, the Council cleared the judge of any wrongdoing.