KATHMANDU, JUNE 20

The Special Court sentenced former Director General of the Inland Revenue Department Chudamani Sharma, and former member of the Tax Settlement commission Umesh Prasad Dhakal to nine years in jail.

The court imposed a jail term of nine years and one month on former chair of Tax Settlement Commission Lumbadhwaj Mahat, according to Special Court Spokesperson Dipendranath Yogi. The court handed down the punishment to the trio in two corruption cases in which they were convicted on June 1. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 4.10 billion on each of the three convicts.

The bench of Chairman of the Special Court Judge Shree Kanta Paudel, and judges Yamuna Bhattarai and Shaligram Koirala had found the three defendants guilty of corruption.

This is perhaps the first time that a court has imposed such a jail term and heavy fines on people convicted of corruption. Sharma also faced a disproportionate assets case, but the Special court had acquitted Sharma and his wife in that case.

The CIAA had filed a case against Mahat, Dhakal and Sharma for allegedly embezzling billions in revenue by exempting big business houses from taxes for mutual benefit.

Sharma, Dhakal and Mahat can appeal at the Supreme Court if they believe they have been wrongly convicted in the cases.

The CIAA had filed a corruption case in July 2017 accusing the trio of embezzling nearly Rs 11 billion when they were office bearers of the Tax Settlement Commission in 2015.

The anti-graft body has accused the three of making taxpayers submit less than the actual amount, causing loss to the government.

First, a corruption case was filed against the trio on 16 July 12017 and the second time on 23 June 2021.

Criminal lawyer Lav Mainali said that the Supreme Court could allow any defendant who faces jail sentence up to 10 years to file an appeal by requiring him/her to post a bail, but since corruption case was in the negative list, the apex court might require the defendants to file an appeal only after going to jail.

A defendant who has been imposed less than three years jail term is not required to go to jail to file appeal at the higher court.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 21, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.