The government on Monday decided to transfer suspended chief secretary Baikuntha Aryal, who has been chargesheeted in a corruption case, to the National Planning Commission.

A Cabinet meeting took the decision to create a special position at the commission and transfer Aryal to the post, said Minister for Information and Communication Technology Rekha Sharma, who is also the government’s spokesperson.

“Aryal was automatically suspended from his position as per the existing law after the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a case against him at the Special Court,” Sharma said. “For now, it has been decided to create a special position at the National Planning Commission of a hierarchy similar to that of his current position and transfer him there.”

According to Sharma, the special position will exist as long as Aryal remains there and it will automatically be dissolved with his exit.

The CIAA on Sunday filed a Rs386.7 million corruption case against a company and 11 individuals, including Aryal, at the Special Court over their alleged involvement in irregularities while awarding a contract to print excise duty stickers.

In the history of Nepal’s civil service, this is the first time a corruption case has been filed against a sitting chief secretary and subsequently suspended.