Kathmandu, December 7: Nepal’s Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a massive corruption case at the Special Court concerning irregularities in the construction of Pokhara Regional International Airport. The anti-graft body is seeking to recover approximately NPR 8.37 billion (around USD 62 million) and has named 55 defendants, including five former ministers, ten former secretaries, and even the Chinese contractor.

Among the most striking names on the defendant list:

• Post Bahadur Bogati, a former Maoist minister who died of a heart attack on 15 September 2014 — more than 11 years ago. He has been named as a defendant posthumously.
• Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat, veteran Nepali Congress leader and one of the architects of Nepal’s economic liberalization. Dr. Mahat, who served as Finance Minister multiple times over nearly two decades, is currently suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s disease and reportedly does not even recognize longtime colleagues. This is the first corruption charge ever filed against him in his long political career.
• Ram Kumar Shrestha, former minister in the 2013 election government.
• Bhim Acharya, senior UML leader and former Tourism Minister under the KP Sharma Oli government.
• Deepak Amatya, who served as Tourism Minister during the Jhala Nath Khanal-led UML faction.

Also charged are ten former secretaries, suspended Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Director General Pradeep Adhikari, other project officials, and the Chinese contractor, China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd (CAMCE).

Key Allegations

The CIAA claims widespread irregularities in the tender process, deliberate cost inflation, acceptance of substandard work, and massive financial loss to the state. Although the total project cost exceeded NPR 22 billion, the anti-graft body alleges that around NPR 8.37 billion was siphoned off through corrupt practices.

Political Reactions

• Nepali Congress has called the case “politically motivated revenge.”
• CPN-UML has defended it as “upholding the rule of law.”
• Maoist Centre has strongly objected to naming the late Post Bahadur Bogati, terming it “inhumane and a legal error.”

Legal and Ethical Questions

The inclusion of a deceased minister has raised serious legal questions about whether a dead person can be made a defendant in a corruption case. Similarly, Dr. Mahat’s advanced Alzheimer’s condition is likely to complicate court proceedings and has sparked ethical debates.

This case is not just about Pokhara Airport; it has become one of the biggest corruption scandals ever to involve some of Nepal’s most prominent political figures, past and present — including one who can no longer remember his own legacy and another who is no longer alive to defend himself.

The Special Court will now decide whether this is genuine accountability after decades of delay… or simply the latest chapter in Nepal’s never-ending cycle of political score-settling.