CIAA’s conviction rate in corruption cases takes a hit
The conviction rate in corruption cases filed by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority in the Special Court, who was lingering around 80 percent a few years back, has dipped in the last three years.
The conviction rate in corruption cases filed by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority in the Special Court, who was lingering around 80 percent a few years back, has dipped in the last three years.
According to the CIAA annual report submitted to President Bidya Devi Bhandari last week, the Special Court has passed verdicts in favour of the anti-graft body in 67.82 percent of the cases in the fiscal year 2017-18. The Special Court had verdict in 174 cases filed by the CIAA. The constitutional body has appealed at the Supreme Court against the Special Court verdicts in 68 cases.
The success rate in corruption cases filed by the CIAA was 73.13 percent in the fiscal year 2016-17, and it was just 60 percent in the fiscal 2015-16, according to the commission report. It was much higher in the previous four years, ranging from 80 percent to 88.1 percent.
CIAA Commissioner Ganesh Raj Sharma admitted that the success rate of the cases filed by the CIAA remained relatively poorer in the recent years. “We have not evaluated causes for poor results. It is something that needs an immediately attention,” he said.
It must be the cause of concern for the CIAA, the anti-corruption campaigners say.
Former CIAA chief Surya Nath Upadhyay told the Post that the anti-graft body should take the poor success rate into its stride and strengthen its investigations.
The CIAA has often come under fire for making weak cases against the accused, leading to them getting a clean chit. Controversial rulings by the court are only worsening the situation.
“But, the CIAA should take the case to the court only after being assured that the court will give a verdict in its favour,” he said.
Lately, the CIAA has also been working on improving its investigation by making necessary reforms in the investigation procedure with the use of advanced technology to make it more evidence-based.
Cyber forensic lab, engineering lab and office automation have been set up for making the investigation and prosecution more evidence and fact-based, the CIAA report said.
“In the future, the working procedure, technology and human resources will be made more effective to strengthen the investigation and persecution process.”
Prithvi Man Shrestha is a political reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering the governance-related issues including corruption and irregularities in the government machinery. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2009, he worked at nepalnews.com and Rising Nepal primarily covering the issues of political and economic affairs for three years.
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