Chief Secretary Aryal acquitted, Bikal and Safal found guilty

KATHMANDU, Nov 5: The Special Court has acquitted Chief Secretary Baikuntha Aryal and others in a corruption case related to excise duty sticker printing, while finding two people guilty. A bench consisting of Special Court Chairperson and Judge Tek Narayan Kunwar, along with Judges Khusi Prasad Tharu and Ritendra Thapa, issued the verdict last Wednesday, just four months after the case was filed.

In the case, the court found that Printing Center Executive Director Bikal Paudel and former director of the National Information Technology Center Safal Shrestha had committed corruption through collusion by taking advance payments. The court concluded that both had caused a loss of Rs 34.2 million each.

However, sentencing for the two guilty people is still pending, with their sentences set to be determined on December 10. In criminal cases, the process involves establishing the guilt first, followed by determining the punishment.

The Special Court has ruled that due to significant amounts of money being spent on important projects, national necessity projects should not be halted because of the ongoing case. “It is necessary to make arrangements to proceed with the excise duty sticker printing project in accordance with the law,” the Special Court stated. “A directive order will be issued in the name of the Government of Nepal to actively ensure that other security printing-related tasks are also completed domestically in a timely manner.”

The Special Court has ruled that the allegations made against Baikuntha Aryal by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) could not be substantiated by any evidence. The CIAA accused Aryal of making unauthorized decisions as the Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communication in collusion with other defendants, instead of obtaining the necessary approvals from the Security Printing Development Committee when approving the procurement master plan. The Special Court has rejected the CIAA's allegations.

"The guilt of any individual cannot be established by suspicion and conjecture," the Special Court stated in its brief verdict. "If suspicion and conjecture are used as tools to establish guilt without any evidence, it undermines trust in justice within society."

It appears that Baikuntha Aryal's decision as the Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communication was made based on the absence of prior practices and regulations, and it has not been proven that the incident occurred due to his actions. The Special Court assessed that if Aryal had convened a meeting and made a decision in his capacity as the chairperson of the Security Development Committee when approving the procurement master plan, a more favorable conclusion might have been reached.

"The accusation of making a negligent decision must be substantiated by evidence," the Special Court stated. "In the absence of evidence, it is not permissible to establish guilt based on assumptions, suspicions, or subjective opinions." The Special Court also emphasized that public officials should ensure transparency, accountability, and adherence to proper procedures when making any decisions.

However, the Special Court concluded that it is not justifiable to determine that a public official has committed an offense, such as corruption, based solely on a general error in the decision-making process, especially when the decision was made in good faith.

“Corruption can only arise if a decision is made with malicious intent or hidden selfish motives. Adopting a process deemed effective for task execution does not constitute bad faith,” the Special Court mentioned.

The Special Court explained that the effectiveness of a process depends on the discretion of the decision-maker. "Until bad faith is proven, the process adopted cannot be deemed invalid."

The bench has also acquitted consultant Shakti Shrestha stating that providing consultation at the Security Printing Center is not an offense in itself. Similarly, former accounts officer Bishnu Prasad Gautam and Section Officer Hari Ballabh Ghimire have also been acquitted.

Director General Ritesh Kumar Shakya, Deputy Director Tanka Prasad Pandey, Under Secretary Ganesh Bikram Shahi, Section Officer Rabindra Prasad Paudel, and Director Keshav Sharma of Print Cell Pvt Ltd have also been acquitted.

The CIAA filed a corruption case on June 23 against 11 individuals and one company, claiming irregularities in the printing of excise duty stickers by the Security Printing Center and seeking a compensation of Rs 386.7 million. Following the filing of the case, Aryal, who held the highest position among civil servants, was suspended.

Aryal is a former secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and a former chairperson of the Security Printing Development Committee. The case was filed at that time, alleging corruption in the procurement of excise duty stickers.

The Security Printing Center was supposed to train its own personnel and purchase the necessary paper and ink to print excise duty stickers using its machines. However, the CIAA claimed that entering into a contract with the private sector without the approval of the official CIAA's specifications and design was done in ‘bad faith.’

The CIAA claims that while Aryal was the secretary, he completely usurped the authority of the seven members and did not even get the policy, budget, and programs for the fiscal year 2022/23 approved by the committee's meeting for the Security Printing Center. He is also accused of using powers not granted by law to provide direct assistance to the Executive Director in illegal activities while serving as the secretary of the ministry.

He had issued the budget ceiling and submitted the annual budget and programs to the Ministry of Finance for entry. The CIAA stated in the charge-sheet that he had violated public procurement regulations by failing to carry out tasks that should have been done in his capacity as the chairperson and instead granting arbitrary authority to others.

The Security Printing Center proceeded with the procurement of excise duty stickers in violation of the performance agreement between the Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (first party) and the Executive Director of the Security Printing Center (second party), despite having approved the budget allocated for the fiscal year 2021/22.

The procurement was carried out in violation of the provisions in the approved budget, procurement master plan, and performance agreement. The CIAA alleged that the procurement of excise duty stickers, which directly affects the nation's economy, was contracted to be printed by a private company.