KATHMANDU, Feb 6: Lawmakers have demanded removal of the statute of limitations for filing corruption cases against public office bearers in a bill to amend the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Act which is under discussion in parliament.
Some lawmakers are however in favor of a 10 years’ limitations instead of five years proposed in the original bill registered by the Prime Minister’s Office in the upper house last month.
Although the original bill has stated that cases should be filed on corruption charges within five years after the case coming into notice except in the case of embezzlement of public properties, lawmakers have not sought amendment to the provision.
Corruption and Statute of Limitations
Lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties have registered amendments to the proposed five years’ statute of limitation for public office bearers for filing case on corruption charges. According to the parliament secretariat, six amendments have been registered seeking revisions of various provisions of the bill.
In a joint amendment proposed by nine lawmakers from the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) including Thagendra Prakash Puri, Udaya Sharma Paudel and others, they have demanded removal of the statute of limitations for public office bearers in corruption cases. But another joint amendment proposal from NC lawmakers has demanded that the statute of limitations for such cases be increased to 10 years instead of five years.
NC lawmakers Radheshyam Adhikari, Sarita Prasai, Jeetendra Narayan Dev, Prakash Pantha as well as Brikhesh Chandra Lal of Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) have demanded that any policy decisions taken from federal and provincial cabinets should be brought under CIAA’s jurisdiction if such decision is found to be giving benefit or causing loss to an individual.
The government has proposed that CIAA cannot investigate cabinet’s policy decisions of the federal and provincial governments and judicial decisions of the court.
Similarly, in separate amendment proposal Pramila Kumari of Samajbadi Party has demanded that the CIAA should be allowed to also investigate policy decisions of federal or provincial cabinets if there is corruption involved in the decisions.
NC lawmakers have demanded that any institution that relies on government grants of 33 percent or above should be defined as public institution. They have also suggested that CIAA should conclude its investigation into corruption in development works within 180 days.
