Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday upheld the decision of the Special Court to convict former minister and Nepali Congress leader Chiranjibi Wagle on corruption charges.
The SC announced an 18-month jail sentence along with a penalty of Rs 20.3 million on him. In 2004, the Special Court had handed down 30 months in prison and a fine of Rs 40 million, convicting in him corruption when he was a minister. Wagle had filed a petition at the apex court, challenging the lower court’s verdict and had secured bail.
The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had dragged him to court in 2002, accusing him of amassing property by misusing authority while holding a ministerial berth. An expert group’s findings quoted in the verdict showed that Wagle had accumulated Rs 34.32 million during the period between 1991 and 2002 when he assumed seven ministerial offices. Only Rs 14 million of the wealth he possessed had clear legal sources. Walge is the first senior political leader and minister to be convicted of corruption after restoration of democracy.