Anti-Graft Body Appeals Supreme Court to Overturn Bail for Former Civil Aviation Official in Pokhara Airport Corruption Case

Kathmandu. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) approached the Supreme Court on Friday, demanding the cancellation of the order issued by the Special Court to release former Deputy Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, Rishikesh Sharma, on general bail, who is accused of corruption during the construction of the Pokhara Regional International Airport.

The Commission has demanded that the Special Court's order be overturned and that the accused Sharma be kept in custody during the trial proceedings. The CIAA has requested that the case proceed with Sharma in custody in accordance with Section 7(a) of the Special Court Act, 2059.

According to the CIAA, a significant financial loss was inflicted upon the state by artificially inflating the cost estimate during the construction of the Pokhara Airport. The CIAA claims that through collusion involving Sharma and other defendants, the contract was signed showing the approved cost estimate for the construction of the Pokhara International Regional Airport to be $74,343,450 USD (approximately NPR 8.3673 billion) higher than the original estimate of $169,697,000 USD.

For this purpose, the defendants accepted the feasibility study report prepared by the construction company 'China CAMC Engineering' by giving it 'highly appreciated' status. The report mentioned that the airport construction cost would be $264,958,000 USD, which the CIAA alleges the defendants endorsed without any questioning and used as the basis for the contract.