Apex court acquits GPK’s assistant of graft charge
Gokarna Paudel, who served as a personal assistant to former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, has been acquitted of the corruption charge by the Supreme Court
Gokarna Paudel, who served as a personal assistant to former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, has been acquitted of the corruption charge by the Supreme Court on Sunday. A bench presided by Chief Justice Damodar Sharma cleared Paudel of the charges on a technical ground as the investigating officer had failed to complete the investigation within two years. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a case against Paudel claiming that he had amassed property worth Rs 26.3 million while working as an aide to former prime minister Koirala in the early 1990s.
Paudel was earlier exculpated of the corruption charge by the Special Court in 2005. The then Special Court justices, comprising of Bhupadhjow Adhikari, Komal Nath Sharma and Cholendra Shumsher Rana, had acquitted Poudel citing statute of limitation in July 2007. The provision of statute of limitation states that the corruption charges have to be filed within “one year of their retirement from the service”. Dissatisfied with the verdict, CIAA had moved the apex court in 2012.
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