KATHMANDU: The Special Court has cleared all charges of corruption against three individuals accused of irregularities in the construction of the gold jalahari in the Pashupatinath Temple.
A bench comprising Justices Tek Narayan Kunwar and Murari Babu Shrestha ruled that there was no evidence to substantiate claims of embezzlement or intentional misconduct in the high-profile case filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).
The CIAA had accused former Pashupati Area Development Trust Member Secretary Dr Milan Kumar Thapa, former Member Secretary Dr Pradeep Dhakal, and Arun Kumar Shrestha of misappropriating gold during the construction process.
The charges stemmed from a reported discrepancy of 1,491.718 grams in the weight of the gold used.
However, the court ruled that the discrepancy was a result of natural loss during the building process and the inclusion of other metals. It further noted that the weight difference was insufficient to indicate intentional wrongdoing.
The court’s full-text verdict criticized the CIAA for prosecuting only three individuals while failing to charge others involved in the same decision-making process. It described the prosecution as biased and contrary to the principles of equality and fairness.
“This selective approach undermines the integrity of the investigation,” the court noted, stating that all individuals involved in the process should have been held accountable or exonerated based on clear evidence.
The judgment highlighted that the gold used for the Jalahari construction was securely stored under strict protocols, with keys to the locker held by representatives of the Nepal Army, the Pashupati Area Development Trust, and the designated keyholder.
The court also acknowledged that small losses in weight are natural during the crafting process and that the gold was accounted for within the security arrangements overseen by the Nepal Army.
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