KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 13

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court against the decision to hold a person partially guilty in a case related to accumulation of disproportionate property.

The Special Court had recently give a verdict in the case of Bharat Raj Acharya who allegedly accumulated disproportionate assets worth around Rs 32.2 million.

The CIAA had filed a chargesheet at the Special Court against Bharat Raj Acharya, an engineer at the Department of Roads in 2020.

Acharya, who had been working at Lalitpur-based Quality Research and Development Centre under the DoR lately, managed to disclose the source of only Rs 20.7 million out of assets worth around Rs 52.9 million he had earned after joining civil service on 28 September 1984 as a sub-overseer. He accumulated illegal assets worth around Rs 32.2 million till mid-June, 2019, but failed to establish the legitimate sources, claimed the CIAA.

The CIAA had sought recovery of Rs 32.1 million along with a fine equivalent to the amount from Acharya as per Section 20 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002.

The anti-graft body has also listed his wife Ritadevi as a defendant in the chargesheet under the act. However, the Special Court held that there were no substantial evidences to award punishment to Acharya as sought by the CIAA. Issuing a press release, the CIAA said it was not satisfied with the decision of the Special Court and filed an appeal at the apex court seeking to overturn the verdict.

A version of this article appears in the print on October 14, 2023, of The Himalayan Times