KATHMANDU: The Special Court has ordered that five high-ranking government officials, including former secretary Madhu Marasini, be tried on a general date in a corruption case linked to the construction of Pokhara Regional International Airport.
A joint bench of judges Narayan Prasad Paudel, Hemant Rawal and Bidur Koirala issued the order on Monday from Bench No. 2 of the Special Court.
Charges filed by CIAA
According to the charge sheet filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the accused were alleged to have colluded to inflate the project’s cost estimate in an abnormal manner, causing a loss of USD 74,343,450 to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.
The CIAA claimed that the originally approved cost estimate of USD 169,697,000 was revised to USD 240,440,450. The difference allegedly resulted in a loss of around Rs 8.36 billion to the state.
The anti-graft body had charged the defendants under Section 8(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002 (2059 BS), seeking recovery of the alleged embezzled amount, imprisonment, fines, and additional penalties for some of the accused.
Those granted relief include then Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Madhu Kumar Marasini, Secretary Suman Prasad Sharma, Under Secretary Prem Upadhyay (Prem Nath Upadhyay), then Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Mohan Krishna Sapkota, and then Manager at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Ram Chandra Subedi.
Defence arguments
During investigation and court statements, all defendants denied the charges. They argued that they were not directly involved in the agreement with China CAMC Engineering Co Ltd or in the cost revision process, and that such matters did not fall under their direct responsibility.
Court’s observation
The court observed that while documents, meeting decisions and official responsibilities show that the defendants participated in certain meetings, there is no immediate clear evidence proving their direct involvement in all stages of the procurement process.
On that basis, and in accordance with Section 7(g) of the Special Court Act, 2002 (2059 BS), the bench ordered that the five accused be tried while remaining on a general date, with further evidence to be examined as the case proceeds.
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