RCCC moves SC over its own verdict

Kathmandu , Sept 7 - Prem Raj Karki, an investigator at the Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC), Tuesday moved the Supreme Court with an application seeking revision of the RCCC verdict regarding Dashain allowances distribution case. The "controversial anti-graft" panel had given clean chit to former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and six other ministers of his cabinet nearly three months ago.
According to an official of the apex court, the spokesperson for the RCCC, Prem Raj Karki, today produced his plea before the SC but the apex court administration has not yet decided to register the appeal. According to officials, there is confusion whether the RCCC has the right to appeal against the case in which the RCCC issued a clean chit to the accused.
In the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund case, Deuba and six other ministers were accused of misusing Rs 4.1 million and the RCCC prosecuted them, demanding two-year jail term and paying back of the amount they distributed to their party cadres. In the application, Karki, who claims to have investigated the allowance distribution case, has argued that there were irregularities in the distribution of the allowances from the Prime Ministers' Assistance Fund last year though the RCCC panel acquitted Deuba and his cabinet members.
He has sought the apex court to review the verdict and convict Dueba and six other members in the government that was sacked on February 1 this year. ecently the RCCC authorised Karki, who is the investigation officer of the case, to file the appeal seeking scrapping of the decision of the RCCC that issued a clean chit to Deuba and others accused in the case.
The RCCC had issued a clean chit to Prakash Man Singh, Yuba Raj Gyawali, Dr Mohammad Mohsin, Jogmehar Shre-stha, Purna Bahadur Khadka and Hom Nath Dahal, along with Deuba. The three-member bench of RCCC chairman Bhakta Bahadur Koirala and members Hari Babu Chaudhary and Raghu Chandra Bahadur Singh had given a clean chit to them. The bench, however, directed the government not to repeat such mistakes in the future and standardise distribution of funds. When contacted, Koirala said Karki had been authorised by the RCCC to move the apex court.