The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court against a Special Court verdict that acquitted former chief secretary Baikuntha Aryal and several others in a corruption case involving printing of excise duty stickers.

The CIAA argued that the Special Court had overlooked facts and evidence while delivering a flawed ruling, and insisted that the accused should be punished as demanded in the original charge sheet.

On June 23, 2024, the anti-graft body had filed a case against Aryal–then chief secretary–along with finance ministry joint secretary Ritesh Shakya and 10 others.

The CIAA had sought imprisonment and fines, holding them responsible for causing losses of Rs386.7 million to the state, while also demanding the recovery of Rs68.4 million that had already been paid out.

On September 30, 2024, the Special Court acquitted Aryal and most other defendants, while convicting former executive director of the Security Printing Centre Bikal Paudel and director Safal Shrestha.

The acquittal covered senior officials including former Customs deputy director general Tanka Prasad Pandey, IRD director Ganesh Bikram Shahi, and several procurement officers, consultants and directors of Printcell Pvt Ltd—the company awarded with the printing contract.

In its appeal, the CIAA maintained that the acquittal contradicted both established legal precedents and evidence collected during the investigation. It claimed that the defendants had denied wrongdoing merely to evade punishment, and that such statements should not have been sufficient grounds for acquittal.

The case centres on a contract awarded to Printcell Pvt Ltd to print excise duty stickers for the Inland Revenue Department in 2022. The agreement fixed the cost at 89 paisa per sticker—more than three times higher than earlier rates of 25 paisa—raising suspicions of collusion and inflated pricing.

At the time, Aryal was serving as communications secretary, under whose leadership the Security Printing Centre awarded the contract. He later became chief secretary just days before retiring in June 2024.

Meanwhile, in a separate ruling on Sunday, the Special Court ordered former director of the National Information Technology Centre, Sunil Paudel, to be released on bail of Rs100,000. He faces corruption charges related to Rs1.6 million in irregularities during his tenure.