Discussion on whether or not to have statute of limitations in corruption cases takes the centre stage as the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives works to finalise the bill to amend the Corruption Prevention Act 2002.

The KP Sharma Oli government in 2019 had registered the amendment bill in the National Assembly. After long deliberations, the Assembly had sent the bill to the House after endorsing it in April last year. However, the lower house is still debating it. The statute of limitation is a bone of contention.

A provision in the bill says, “The corruption case must be prosecuted within five years from the date of knowing that such an act has been committed." But there is no time limit in lodging the case where the state suffers direct losses.

Even if someone is retired from any profession, s/he can be prosecuted within five years of retirement, says another provision in the amendment bill.

After the discussion on the limit in the parliamentary committee, the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority has proposed to widen the window to 10 years.

However, the parties have yet to agree on the matter. While some Nepali Congress and Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmakers want removal of the provision, other parties have not made their official positions clear yet.

Oli, who appeared before the House committee on July 22, made no comment on it. CPN (Maoist Centre) chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who was present during the discussion in the House committee on Thursday, also did not make his position clear.

“Let’s have an intensive discussion on whether to keep the statute of limitations and for how long,” said Dahal.

Congress leaders, however, are vocal against such limitation. Reiterating his position, Nepali Congress lawmaker Gagan Thapa said there can be no statute of limitation in corruption cases.

Thapa, who is also the Congress general secretary, has registered a proposal to remove the limit.

Taking part in the deliberations on the bill on Thursday, Congress lawmaker Hridaya Ram Thani said no corruption committed before 2018-19 can be investigated if five years of limitation is imposed.

“On the one hand, we are talking about investigating the corruption cases after 1990. On the other, there is the issue of five-year limitation. This is contradictory,” said Thani.

An official at the constitutional watchdog said it is the legislature’s prerogative whether or not to have a limit of investigating corruption cases.

Thani demands that the bill must give investigators the mandate to examine the decisions from the local level to the federal Cabinet for irregularities. He said that “policy decisions” should be explained in the law. So far Cabinet decisions in particular are legally exempted from investigation.

The ruling UML is yet to make its position clear on the time limit.

Experts have expressed concern that if the bill is passed, it will not be possible to prosecute those in power. They will use it as a loophole to obtain clean chits, they say.

Sharing his views on the bill, Dahal, the prime minister preceding Oli, said that the provision of automatic suspension of those holding public offices once the commission lodges a case against them in the Special Court needs to be revisited.

Citing incidents of the accused getting clean chits, he said there should be discussions on incorporating the provision of no suspension until conviction.

“Or compensate for the period of suspension if [the person is] acquitted by the court [later],” Dahal said. “This is not my conclusion but just a food for thought.”