KATHMANDU: With a corruption case filed against Chief Secretary Dr. Baikuntha Aryal in the Special Court, he has been automatically suspended vacating the position for the next secretary in his office.

Following Aryal’s suspension, Senior Secretary Liladevi Gadtaula from the Prime Minister’s Office will assume the responsibilities of Acting Chief Secretary.

Gadtaula is the senior-most among the secretaries in the office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.

The corruption case, filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority on Sunday, accuses Aryal and others of irregularities amounting to millions of rupees in the procurement of excise duty stickers for the Security Printing Center during Aryal’s tenure as Secretary of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.

Gadtaula had executed various responsibilities, including the Chairperson of Nepal Law Commission, before being transferred to the Prime Minister’s Office.