Kathmandu, Oct 9: The Department of Money Laundering Investigation has seized documents related to the controversial Supreme Court building contract during a search of former Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana’s residence.
The department searched Rana’s home on Wednesday, Asoj 21, while investigating complaints concerning his assets and financial transactions. Sources close to the Prime Minister’s Office said investigators seized diaries containing financial records and documents related to the Supreme Court building contract awarded during Rana’s tenure.
Complaints filed through the government’s Hello Sarkar platform had accused Rana of abusing his position, receiving financial benefits in court cases and influencing judicial proceedings through intermediaries. Complainants sought investigations into assets belonging to Rana, his family members and alleged intermediaries.
The complaints also referred to the Supreme Court building contract, the Ncell case and other high-profile cases.
Questions over the Supreme Court building project date back to Rana’s tenure as chief justice. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had received complaints alleging serious irregularities in awarding the contract.
The Supreme Court invited bids for the building on December 21, 2020. Four companies applied, but three were disqualified during technical evaluation, leaving only one bidder.
The estimated project cost was Rs 5.219 billion. On April 1, 2021, during Rana’s tenure, the contract was awarded to Kalika-Samanantar JV for Rs 5.199 billion.
The procurement drew scrutiny because Nepal’s procurement rules require international bidding for contracts worth more than Rs 5 billion. Complaints alleged that authorities instead invited national bids and imposed conditions that restricted competition.
The Office of the Auditor General also questioned the procurement, noting that approving a single bidder prevented meaningful competition. The winning bid was only 0.39 per cent below the approved cost estimate, making it difficult to consider the procurement competitive or economical.
The Auditor General also said the Supreme Court had encroached on the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Urban Development.
The CIAA had sought clarification from the Supreme Court. The court initially argued that the CIAA lacked jurisdiction to investigate a decision made by the chief justice. Later, the secretariat of then-acting Chief Justice Deepak Kumar Karki opened the way for an investigation and urged the anti-graft agency to establish the facts.
However, no further action was publicly reported. The building contract was subsequently included among the allegations examined by the parliamentary impeachment investigation committee against Rana.
Documents related to that contract are now among the materials seized by the money laundering investigation department for further investigation.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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