The government has decided to drop the statute of limitations from corruption law amendment following public outcry.

Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak on Friday told the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives that the government was ready to remove the provision. The minister was attending a meeting of the House committee which is working to finalise the bill to amend the Corruption Prevention Act 2002.

Also, Ramhari Khatiwada, chair of the lower house committee, said that it has now become certain that the five-year statute of limitations on corruption cases will be removed.

The proposed provision in the bill said, “A corruption case must be prosecuted within five years from the date when the misconduct is discovered.” However, there would be no time limit for filing a case if the state directly suffers losses.

Lawmakers supported removing the provision after it caused public controversy.