Lumbini Province Assembly member Dhan Bahadur KC was sent to prison on Sunday.

Elected from Rukum East-1 (b), KC, a Nepali Congress lawmaker, was convicted in a case of document forgery.

According to Madhav Kharel, chief of police in Rukum East, KC, who had been absconding until now, surrendered himself to the District Court in Rukum East on Sunday. The court subsequently sent him to prison to serve his sentence, Kharel informed.

The Rukum District Court, in its verdict on June 23, 1991, had sentenced KC to one year in prison and a fine of Rs2,000 for document forgery.

He was convicted following a complaint lodged by his wife, Radha KC, who accused him of submitting forged documents in a divorce case. There has been public criticism over the fact that he had not yet faced punishment even years after the court’s order.

There was internal opposition within Nepali Congress, claiming that a person with no political contribution had been given a ticket due to financial influence. He has long been accused of being involved in illegally sending Nepalis to the United States. KC is also accused of amassing a considerable amount of wealth through this and becoming a provincial assembly member as a result. Although he was initially ineligible to even run for office, it is alleged that he participated in the election through political collusion.

Despite being convicted by the court, he managed to file candidacy, as the court documents got misplaced during the split of Rukum district into Rukum East and Rukum West, officials said. “There was no way to prevent him from running in the election,” they said. “The absence of key court documents made it easier for him to participate in the election.”

Section 216 of the Provincial Assembly Rules of 2022 provisions that the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly has the authority to suspend him for the duration of his imprisonment, Dan Bahadur Magar, the secretary at the provincial assembly secretariat, said.

“If someone submits written information to the Provincial Assembly, the Speaker can suspend him for the duration of his imprisonment, according to legal provisions,” he said. “Action will be taken against him as per the same provisions. However, news reports alone are not sufficient; someone must provide information in writing to the Assembly.”

Section 216 (4) of the Provincial Assembly Rules further outlines that if a member of the provincial assembly is sentenced to imprisonment by the final verdict of a court in a criminal case, the Speaker must suspend the member for the entire duration of the imprisonment.

Similarly, Article 187 (6) of the Constitution states that if a member of the provincial assembly is arrested, the arresting authority must immediately inform the Speaker of the provincial assembly.

Although there is no explicit legal provision stating that imprisonment in a criminal case leads to automatic removal from office, Article 178 of the Constitution outlines that a person convicted of a criminal offence involving moral turpitude is not eligible to be a member of the provincial assembly.

Similarly, Article 180, concerning the vacancy of a seat in the provincial assembly, specifies that if a member lacks the qualifications under Article 178, their seat will be vacated.