KATHMANDU, June 13: The Supreme Court (SC) postponed the verdict in the case concerning the appointment of 52 officials to constitutional bodies, prompting the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to become more active. Although the SC had originally scheduled the verdict for June 11, it pushed the date back by another 20 days on Wednesday, which is expected to further boost the CIAA's activity.
In mid-May, the CIAA filed corruption charges at the Special Court against a wide range of officials, from former Prime Minister Madhav Nepal to the youngest Joint Secretary, Pradeep Pariyar. The CIAA is expected to continue its active campaign for another 20 days.
"Between Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May) and Asar (mid-June to mid-July), we regularly file many cases as part of our routine work," said a CIAA investigation officer. "The CIAA handles investigations and prosecution, while the courts handle judicial proceedings. Our work targets all individuals and patterns involved in corruption, without bias."
The CIAA is currently investigating the misuse of visit visas-a case that has sparked controversy. Citing this issue, opposition parties have been obstructing parliamentary proceedings.
The SC has once again extended the timeline for settling the long-pending case on constitutional appointments, which has remained under review since 2074 BS. It has now scheduled the verdict for July 2.
The Constitutional Bench-comprising Chief Justice Prakashman Singh Raut and Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla, Manoj Kumar Sharma, Kumar Chudal, and Nahakul Subedi-concluded the final hearing on May 15 and set the date for the ruling. Since the case involves appointments to major positions, including those at the CIAA, observers had anticipated that the court might overturn some appointments, uphold others, or refer certain cases to the Parliamentary Hearing Committee.
By pushing back the verdict date, the SC has created space for the CIAA to intensify its activities.
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The CIAA filed the highest number of corruption cases at the Special Court in the month of Jestha (mid-May to mid-June), marking an active period within the first 11 months of the current fiscal year.
On June 5, the CIAA filed a major corruption case against 93 individuals, including former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, former ministers Prem Bahadur Singh and the late Dambar Shrestha, and the late former Chief Secretary Madhav Prasad Ghimire. The case charged them with illegally purchasing and selling land beyond the legal ceiling to operate Patanjali Yogpeeth and Ayurveda Company Nepal in Sanga, Mahendrajyoti of Kavrepalanchowk district. Following the filing, some critics claimed the government had pressured the CIAA into pursuing the case.
On June 8, the CIAA filed another case against Nepal Telecom's Managing Director Sangeeta Pahadi, former Managing Director Sunil Paudel, and 16 others, accusing them of corruption in the telecom company's billing process.
Earlier, on June 2, the CIAA filed a separate corruption case against former Chief Minister of Sudurpaschim Province, Dirgha Bahadur Sodari.
On May 18, the CIAA filed corruption cases against Bharat Thapa, Mayor of Bagmati Municipality in Sarlahi; Deputy Mayor Leela Kumari Moktan; and former Madhesh Province Minister Bijay Kumar.
By June 11, the CIAA had filed a total of 27 cases at the Special Court, including these high-profile ones. Most recently, the CIAA filed a corruption case against Joint Secretary Pradeep Pariyar, currently the Director General of the Department of Information and Broadcasting.
On Wednesday, the CIAA charged Pariyar and six others at the Special Court, accusing them of financial irregularities involving over Rs 40 million during Pariyar's tenure as Chief Administrative Officer of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Pariyar served in that role from January 19, 2024 to September 12, 2024.
Similarly, the CIAA filed a corruption case against Dipendra Kumar Thakur, former Managing Director of D & N Builders Pvt. Ltd. and now a Provincial Assembly Member from Madhesh Province, along with Brahmadev Yadav, former Chairperson of Aurahi Rural Municipality in Dhanusha district. The CIAA accused a total of 17 individuals of embezzling and misusing public property.
The CIAA filed 12 cases in Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) and increased filings to 19 cases in Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May). It filed the fewest cases-only 2-in Falgun (mid-February to mid-March).
The CIAA also filed 13 cases in Magh (mid-January to mid-February), 11 in Poush (mid-December to mid-January), 7 in Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December), 4 in Kartik (mid-October to mid-November), 3 in Ashoj (mid-September to mid-October), 16 in Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September), and 9 in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August). These numbers show that the CIAA intensified its activity in Jestha.
A CIAA source says the commission plans to submit all previously investigated cases to SC before the court delivers its verdict on the writ petition concerning the appointment of CIAA officials.
On December 15, 2020, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the Constitutional Council chaired a meeting and recommended appointments for vacant positions in various constitutional commissions. The Oli-led government then issued an ordinance related to the Constitutional Council and recommended appointing 52 individuals to different constitutional bodies.
Based on the ordinance issued by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari regarding the Constitutional Council, the Council of Ministers submitted these recommendations. Relying on this, advocates including Om Prakash Aryal filed separate writ petitions in the Supreme Court during mid-December 2020, demanding the annulment of these recommended appointments.
The constitutional council includes six members: the Prime Minister as chairperson, the Chief Justice, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chairperson of the National Assembly, the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives, and the Deputy Speaker. The constitution assigns the government's Chief Secretary to serve as the council's secretary. Because the Constitutional Council Act requires unanimous decisions, the government issued a second ordinance to bypass this requirement.
The government issued the first amendment ordinance twice to change the council's duties, powers, and procedures. Using that ordinance, the government recommended appointments. When the constitutional council held a meeting with only three members-failing to reach quorum-and recommended the appointments, petitioners filed writs in the Supreme Court challenging the process.
Prime Minister and Constitutional Council Chairperson Oli, former Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher JBR, and former National Assembly Chairperson Ganesh Prasad Timilsina chaired the meeting that recommended the appointments. Petitioners filed writ petitions in the SC demanding annulment, arguing that the government made the appointments based on an illegal ordinance. After the government made the appointments, it revoked the ordinance on July 18, 2021.
Once the government revoked the ordinance, its justification ended. More than 150 lawyers have engaged in this case, which the SC has continuously heard since February 12, 2025. Although the SC first heard the case on December 18, 2020, delays pushed its expected resolution beyond August 19, 2021.