SC to deal with graft cases separately

KATHMANDU, July 29: The Supreme Court has decided to create a separate category for corruption cases so as to facilitate their prompt settlement.

The apex court had been looking after the corruption cases keeping them under the category of criminal cases. "We have decided to create a separate category as corruption cases could not get due priority under the existing system," said Nahakul Subedi, spokesperson for the apex court. "With the new decision, corruption case will get priority," he added.Newly appointed Chief Justice Kalyan Shrestha while assuming office had said that he would prioritize cases related to corruption and development issues. Recently, the apex court has also decided to ensure regular hearings in corruption cases.

According to Subedi, there were 543 corruption cases at the Supreme Court in the fiscal year 2014/2015 but only 86 cases were settled in the year. Currently, 457 corruption cases are sub judice at the apex court.

"We will soon finalize a way out to prioritize cases related to development works by analyzing how many such cases are sub judice at the Supreme Court at present," said Subedi.

Chief Justice Shrestha has decided to prioritize development cases arguing the delay in settling such cases would not only delay development but also hike the cost of development projects.

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