Nepali Minister JP Gupta Jailed on corruption charges

Minister for Information and Communications Jay Prakash (JP) Gupta has been convicted on corruption charges. The Supreme Court on today (Tuesday) imposed one and half years jail term and Rs 8.5 million fines on Minister Gupta announcing him guilty of the corruption charges on him. He has been sent to Dillibazaar jail starting from today.

JP Gupta was charged by the Supreme Court for amassing around Rs 25 million by abusing power and through illegal means when he was a minister. Gupta, following the case, has been terminated from both the ministerial post and member of the constituent assembly. He also voluntarily surrendered before the court immediately after the proved conviction which gave him a 20 percent deduction on the charges.

This is not the first time JP Gupta had been on the ministerial post. He had been on the same post of Information and Communications Minister in Nepal in 2055 and 2058 B.S. He had also been on the post of Agriculture Minister in 2056 B.S.

The Commission for Investigation on Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in March 2003 had filed a case accusing him to be involved in corruption after his bank balances significantly increased from twenty-two thousands to millions after being on public post. See the Image below of his Bank Balance figure before and after being on the public post.

The CIAA had also accused Gupta of purchasing land in Kathmandu, Duwakot of Bhaktapur and Dharampur of Saptari besides hiding millions of rupees in banks. But the Special Court, under which the case was filed then, had given him a clean chit.

The anti-graft body had filed an appeal challenging the special court clean chit decision. The Supreme Court now had been examining whether the nine-year-old verdict of the Special Court to give Gupta a clean chit was proper.

In addition to the ministerial post of Information and Communications Minister of Nepal under Baburam Bhattarai government, Gupta is also the chairman of Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Republican.

Well done Supreme Court! Well done division bench of Justices Sushila Karki and Tarka Raj Bhatta for issuing such a brave verdict!

Image Via Nagarik News