Corruption Case of NRB Governor

In this post, in our earlier blog post, We had written that we will be updating you with the recent development on this case- case related to Governor Bijaya Nath Bhattarai as this case assumes a great significance among public. Here is a report published in Kantipur about the authenticity of letters presented by CIAA. If this is true, I think, the case is weak one and seems to tilt in favour of the accused.

KPMG official was never in Nepal for RB deal

KPMG, a Sri Lanka-based consulting firm dragged into the corruption case against Nepal Rastra Bank Governor, has finally replied to the Special Court, saying that it did not authorize A.N. Fernando to sign a consulting agreement with the central bank on February 6, 2006.Fernando is currently at the center of the controversy that has surrounded the case after the court raised doubts about the authenticity of the agreement bearing his signature. The court has not been able to finalize the case against Governor Bijaya Nath Bhattarai because of the questionable nature of the document.

“Mr. A. N. Fernando who was supposed to have signed said agreement with the Central Bank of Nepal on behalf of our firm has never been to Nepal and the signature appearing on page 3 of the agreement sent by you is not his signature,” KPMG said in a reply sent to the court on Monday.

KPMG was replying to a court letter sent on January 16. The court has asked the firm to clarify the authenticity of the document.

The question of the authenticity of the document arose after lawyers for Governor Bhattarai doubted the authenticity of a letter dated June 18, 2007. In the letter sent to Ranjan Krishna Aryal, investigation officer of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), KPMG said the signature appearing on the agreement was not Fernando’s.

Like the lawyers for the CIAA and those for the Governor, the judges of the court have also remained divided over the documents. Chairman of the court Bhoop Dhoj Adhikari has maintained that there was no need to verify the authenticity of the documents to pass a verdict in the case. However, two other members of the courts, Komal Nath Sharma and Cholendra SJB Rana, have been seeking to verify the authenticity of the documents. As the members are in a majority, their stance is prevailing.

The court is holding yet another hearing in the case on February 15.

CJ stresses on media-judiciary interaction

This Blog post contains some of the recent legal news about Nepalese Law and its development. The first post is about the views expressed by Chief Justice of Nepal Supreme Court where he expressed his views that there should be more interaction between Judiciary and Media. This is indeed a welcome step on the light of some of the media publications in Nepal highlighting corruption in Judiciary. The Right to information of Nepalese people entitle every nepali citizen to know what is state doing including judiciary. Since right to information is part of right of freedom of speech and expression enshrined in our constitution, the steps that judiciary is taking must uphold the letters and spirits of constitution.

The News was published in Nepalnews and can be read here:

Chief Justice Kedar Prasad Giri has said Supreme Court would soon initiate projects to improve the relation between judiciary and media so as the deliver right information about decisions in court to the general people.

Addressing the inaugural session of reporting training on legal issues organised by Freedom Forum in the capital Wednesday, Giri said that regular interaction between media and judiciary was essential for promoting human rights and civil liberties in the transitional phase.

Former attorney general Badri Bahadur Karki said journalists writing news on legal issues have to be more responsible in disseminating correct information, adding that court reporting in Nepal has been minimal.

Former president of Nepal Bar Association Shambhu Thapa said the journalists must distinguish between legal and judicial aspects of the any verdicts given by the court while writing news.
Senior journalist Harihar Birahi, Gokul Pokhrel, president of Press Chautari Bal Krishna Chapagain, chairman of Freedom Forum Tara Nath Dahal highlighted the importance of court reporting in Nepal and necessity for improving the relation between media and judiciary.

There is one more news published in Kantipur about modernisation of Nepalese Judiciary.

You can read the news here:

SC gives more power to judges, legalizes IT use

A meeting of the Full Court, the apex policy making body of the judiciary, on Tuesday approved more power to chief judges of the appellate courts besides legalizing correspondence via the Internet for judicial purpose.The meeting took the decision to this effect by amending the existing Supreme Court and Appellate Court Regulations, according to Supreme Court Spokesperson Til Prasad Shrestha.

The meeting decided to give more power to the chief judges of the appellate courts so as to make the administration of justice more effective in the district courts under their respective jurisdiction.

Now the chief judges can regularly monitor, inspect and instruct the district courts under their respective jurisdiction, making the chief judges active and dynamic in their respective regions.

The amendments were introduced in view of the fact that the chief judges have been more dependent on the Supreme Court even for giving direction and monitoring and inspecting performance of the lower courts under their jurisdiction.

In the meantime, the Full Court also decided to include provisions in the Regulations, legalizing correspondence via the Internet for judicial purpose. Earlier, only correspondence via fax and post offices were considered authentic for judicial purpose.

Similarly, the Full Court also decided to give power to Chief Justice to designate judges for the proposed six commercial benches. Preparations are underway to establish commercial benches, Shrestha said.