Supreme Court Schedules Hearing for Corruption Case Against Former Kaski Land Revenue Officials

Kathmandu. The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for the corruption case against Ramchandra Adhikari, the former head of the Kaski Land Revenue Office, and Tulsiram Budhamagar. The case is scheduled to be heard by a joint bench comprising Justices Manojkumar Sharma and Sunilkumar Pokharel.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) approached the Supreme Court seeking the remand of both defendants, Adhikari and Budhamagar, who were released on bail by the Special Court in the Lichhibari land bribery case. The Special Court had ordered the main defendants in the Lichhibari land corruption case, Ramchandra Adhikari and Tulsiram Budha Magar, to be released on a bail of NPR 5 lakh each.

The CIAA had claimed arrears of NPR 5.3 million against Adhikari and NPR 7.8 million against Magar, demanding imprisonment and fines in accordance with the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059. In the petition registered at the Supreme Court, the CIAA demanded that the defendants be kept in custody during the trial in accordance with Section 7(e) of the Special Court Act, 2059.

The petition, filed under Section 73 of the Muluki Criminal Procedure Code, 2074, and Section 15 of the Justice Administration Act, 2073, stated that the Special Court demanded an extremely low bail amount compared to the arrears, which undermines the spirit of justice.