Petition lodged at SC demanding end to policy-level corruption provisions

A writ petition has been lodged at the Supreme Court (SC) demanding to scrap legal provisions that are aimed curtailing the constitutional jurisdiction of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to give an exemption to the policy-level corruption.

Legal practitioners Raju Chapagain on behalf of Justice and Rights Institute of Nepal (JuRI-Nepal) and Ghanshyam Khadka on behalf of Human Rights Journalists Association and other organizations working for human rights and good-governance filed the petition putting forth such demand.

In the petition, the petitioners have argued that continuation of such legal provisions have deepened political and policy-level corruption and has seriously impacted citizens’ fundamental rights.

The petitioners have also demanded mandamus order for the needed legal provisions to implement national strategy and plan of action against corruption and UN conventions adding that the people holding public positions deserve investigations and legal actions for their policy-level wrongdoings.