The Special Court on Tuesday found former Minister of Women, Children and Social Welfare Badri Neupane, former minister and sitting member of parliament Tek Bahadur Gurung, and six others guilty in a corruption case.

The joint bench of Special Court Chairman Shrikant Paudel, judges Shaligram Koirala and Balabhadra Bastola issued the guilty verdict for their involvement in irregularities worth Rs315.21 million while leasing out land to Fun Park, a children’s amusement park at Brikutimandap.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on February 4, 2019, had filed a corruption case against 14 individuals. The anti-graft body in its chargesheet had said that the board of the council headed by erstwhile minister Neupane on July 30, 2012 had decided to lease the land without competitive bidding, causing a loss of Rs315.21 million to the council, the CIAA has said in its chargesheet.

The Fun Park which covers 60 ropanies of land is owned by the Social Welfare Council, the regulatory body of the non-government organisations.

The court, apart from Neupane and Gurung, has convicted Pramod Mehata, the then vice president of the Social Welfare Council, Kunj Bihari Prasad Chaudhary, the then treasurer, Rabindra Kumar Yadav, the then member secretary, Mohan Raj Sharma, Madan Kumar Lal Karn, the then member, and Rabindra Gurung, the chief operator of Fun Park, in the case, informed Dipendranath Yogi, the spokesperson of the Special Court.

The anti-graft body has sought a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of Rs 315,217,675 from the guilty individuals as per section 5 (1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act-2002.

Yogi informed that the court will determine the term of punishment for the convicted individuals on March 9.