Over 200 civil servants suspended across Nepal for investigation

KATHMANDU, April 9: About 201 civil servants across the country have been suspended for various reasons. As per the existing legal provisions, the accused civil servants are automatically suspended after a case is filed at the Special Court by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) against them.

Similarly, if a civil servant commits any immoral or punishable act inside or outside the office, the head of the office can recommend an investigation against such employee. In such a case, the accused employee shall be suspended until the investigation is concluded.

Apart from financial irregularities, there is a provision to suspend the accused employee until the case is pending at the court against the employee who has committed punishable acts according to law. According to the law, the head of the concerned office should send the information about the suspension of the employee under him to the Department of Civil Personnel Records (DoCPR). 

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According to Sudan Shrestha, spokesperson and director of DoCPR, the Department has information about the suspension of around 200 employees across the country in the last five years.

“According to the records received by us, it seems that around 200 employees from all over the country have been suspended,” he said. An employee said that according to the records of the DoCPR, 201 employees have been suspended till the second week of April. But this record is likely to change from day to day depending on the cases and their resolution.

Suspended employees are entitled to receive half a month's salary, but if acquitted, there is a legal provision to receive full salary. According to the current tradition, it takes at least six months to get a decision from the court. It is also seen that cases are pending in the court for at most four to five years. The employees who are cleared from this get a salary even if they do not work for six months to four to five years. According to the records of the DoCPR, most suspended employees are cleared of the charge at the end.

“At most, only 10 percent of the employees are proven guilty by the court, the remaining 90 percent are acquitted,” said another employee of the DoCPR. According to the DoCPR, there are about 86,000 civil servants across the country.