KATHMANDU, Dec 27: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has appealed to the Supreme Court in the case against the then suspended Director General of Internal Revenue Department (IRD) Chudamani Sharma and others.
The CIAA Spokesperson Narhari Ghimire said that the CIAA filed an appeal at the Supreme Court on Sunday expressing dissatisfaction with the decision made by the Special Court.
According to Spokesperson Ghimire, the Special Court on June 1, regarding Chudamani Sharma and his wife Kalpana Upreti Sharma, ruled that the CIAA's claim that they had committed illegal acquisition of wealth and corruption was 'not sufficient'. However, the CIAA has appealed to the Supreme Court with various objections saying that it is not satisfied with the decision of the Special Court.
Supreme Court orders to release Chudamani Sharma
Earlier on June 1, the Special Court convicted three former officials of the Tax Settlement Commission (TSC), including Sharma, on corruption in a tax evasion case. Sharma also served as a member-secretary of the TSC.
Sharma, Lumba Dhwaj Mahat and Umesh Dhakal, have been proven guilty in the case of abusing their authority in waiving taxes amounting to Rs 10.2 billion payable by various big business firms. The government had mandated the accused to collect billions from those firms and various individuals. The officials however had given tax rebates improperly when they were in the official positions in 2015.
Apart from the tax waiver case, Sharma, along with his wife Kalpana Uprety Sharma, were also accused of accumulating unexplained property worth Rs 42.95 million. The court however gave a clean chit to Sharma and his wife in the case of illegally amassing property.
The biggest ever corruption case prosecuted in the country first landed at the court in July 2017. Sharma was arrested from his office the same year after numerous complaints registered against him on charge of misusing millions of properties abusing his authority. On November 29 of the same year, Sharma was released after depositing a bail of Rs 10 million sought by the Special Court.
Another corruption case was filed against the suspended IRD Chief Sharma, at the Special Court in January, 2018. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed the case against Sharma for the second time stating that Sharma’s property, amounting to Rs 42.95 million, was disproportionate to his legal income.
The Special Court on June 21, 2023 slapped a nine-year jail sentence on Sharma. Sharma has been convicted of accepting kickbacks to settle tax arrears while he was with the TSC. The Special Court has also asked the concerned authority to recover the misappropriated amount and cash penalty totaling Rs 6 billion from Sharma.
