KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has concluded that the authority had cited wrong legal provisions to allege six people, including former Captain of national football team Sagar Thapa.
The apex court had offered a clean chit to them sued in the match-fixing allegation.
The verdict’s full text made public recently shows claims that all six were alleged in the match-fixing case citing a wrong law.
The district attorney’s office had sued former Captain Sagar Thapa, Bikas Singh Chhetri, Ritesh Thapa, Sandeep Rai, Coach Anjan KC and Physiotherapist Dejib Thapa on seeking action against them as per Clause 3.1 of the Crime against the State and Punishment Act 1990.
Giving its verdict on the case filed on November 8, 2015, SC remarked that even if it’s assumed that they might have committed match-fixing, they cannot be sued as per the cited legal provisions.
“As the laws cited to allege the defendant are not applicable in the charge they are sued for, they cannot be punished guilty,” the full text of SC verdict reads.
The defendants, i.e. Sagar Thapa and others alleged together in the same case are, hence offered clean chit by the SC.
The defendants were alleged of involved in match-mixing in 16-23 international matches Nepal played in many countries, including Iraq, Philippines, Afghanistan, Kuwait, etc.
They were said to have taken up to $ 5000 per match.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has banned them lifetime effective since 2015.
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