Cooperative Victims Urge Chief Justice for Swift Resolution and Savings Return

Pokhara. Cooperative victims have appealed to the Chief Justice to expedite cases and return their savings.

The victims met acting Chief Justice Sapana Malla Pradhan, who was in Pokhara to address a program of the Judicial Council, demanding justice and the return of their lost savings.

They complained that their demands have not been heard by any state body for the past 4 years. 'Some depositors are on the verge of death. They don't have money for medical treatment,' they said. 'This case is also pending in the Supreme Court. The case needs to be decided quickly to guarantee the return of savings.'

Victims from 11 problematic cooperatives in Kaski, including Suryadarshan, Shivashikhar, Image, Mitramilan, Prime, and Balidani, jointly made this appeal. The Cooperative Savings Victims Association Kaski has already been formed with the participation of the victims. A team of representatives handed over a 10-point attention letter to the Chief Justice.

The victims complained that filing cases with lump-sum claims against the board of directors and employees has prolonged the legal process, as jailing the perpetrators alone does not guarantee the return of savings. Although the latest amendment to the Cooperative Act 2074 allows for reconciliation between the complainant and the defendant, the victims lamented that the courts have not facilitated this.

They demand that if the directors ensure and agree to return depositors' funds, they should be given an opportunity to sell assets and settle the amounts while under strict monitoring, even if they are out of jail. Kiran Shrestha, coordinator of the struggle committee, informed that cases of cooperative fraud should be heard on a fast track rather than through the regular process. He argued that instead of filing a lump-sum case against the directors, the amount should be determined based on individual misappropriation according to the report of a financial analyst.

They demand the dissolution of the current Ministry of Cooperatives, Department, and Boards, deeming them completely unsuccessful, and the formation of a Loan Recovery Tribunal and a Problematic Cooperative Management Committee at the district level with representation from the victims.

'Those who took loans and did not repay them also have a significant role in the collapse of cooperatives,' Shrestha says. 'Now the state must recover the amounts by auctioning the property of the debtors.'

He suggested creating an environment for the auction and sale of bank accounts and land property frozen in the name of cooperative directors or cooperatives, after proper valuation. The amount received from this should be arranged to reach the hands of general depositors before it goes into the state treasury or banks.

He demanded that cooperative fraud cases be treated as a separate category and the path for reconciliation be opened, even if the cooperative directors have other personal cases.