A bench comprising Chairman Gauri Bahadur Karki and members Om Prakash Sharma and Kedar Prasad Chalise issued the order after finding that late Sharma´s property was not acquired from legitimate sources. [break]
The court found that late Sharma acquired Rs 37.2 million while he held different ministerial portfolios. This is Rs 22.7 million more than his income from legitimate sources.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a case against Sharma on November 28, 2003, accusing him of illegally amassing Rs 49.5 million while he held various ministerial portfolios.
On June 20, 2007, the Special Court had quashed the case against late Sharma, citing the statute of limitations. However, the Supreme Court (SC) on January 9, 2012 ordered the Special Court, which deals with corruption cases, to reopen the case against Sharma.
Following the SC´s order, the CIAA on May 12, 2012 registered a case against Sharma.
Sharma´s six relatives including his wife Saroj Sharma and son Sharad Kumar Gyawali were made defendants in the case.
The Special Court has ordered seizure of the house built in over 2 ropanis of land and registered in the name of his son and 3 aana land in Baneshwar registered in the name of Sharma´s daughter-in-law Aruna Gyawali.
Similarly, the government will also seize shares owned by Sharma at Everest Bank, Ace Finance, Siddhartha Bank, Agricultural Development Bank, Nabil Bank, Shiksha Tatha Sahari Bikas Bank and three plots of land in Nawalaparasi district.
The court has also ordered seizure of a Toyota Car, a Pazero and a Nissan pick-up worth Rs 2.4 million owned by late Sharma.
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