The State Affairs and Good Governance Committee under the House of Representatives (HoR) has decided to withdraw the provision of time- limit on graft investigation proposed in the Bill to amend the Act of the Prevention of Corruption-2059 BS (2002).
A meeting of the Committee held in Singha Durbar on Friday took a decision to this effect.
Committee President Ramhari Khatiwada proposed the meeting to withdraw the provision of a five-year time limit on corruption investigation and it was supported by Committee members Purna Bahadur Khadka, Rabi Lamichhane, Gagan Kumar Thapa, Chitra Bahadur KC, Bishwa Prakash Sharma, Buddhi Bahadur Tamang, Raghujee Pant, Prakash Adhikari, Sarita Prasai, Dilendra Prasad Badu, Rajendra Pandey, Durga Rai, Hitraj Pandey, Krishna Gopal Shrestha and Ashok Rai among others.
In the meeting, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak highlighted the need to undo the time limit provision to promote good governance in the country.
“The provision warranting the Commission for the Investigation of the
Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to investigate a case of corruption within the five-year of its occurrence has been removed from the Bill. The investigation may take place at any time, the case can be prosecuted at any time,” he said.
Committee member Purna Bahadur Khadka said the decision was welcoming while members, including Hitraj Pandey, Rabi Lamichhane and Rajendra Pandey applauded it.
The Bill was registered in the National Assembly on January 21, 2020, and was endorsed by the NA on June 22, 2020.
Source: National News Agency Nepal