KATHMANDU, Sept 9: The Supreme Court (SC) has issued a directive order in the name of the government to unveil and deposit gifts received by the government officials from various sources in the state treasury.
The SC has issued a historic directive order for the transparency and management of gifts received by government officials of very distinguished and special categories while holding public office, stating that they are not private property but 'state property' received from the sovereign people.
The apex court has asked the government officials to prepare and make public a comprehensive list of all gifts received as courtesy. In response to a writ petition, a joint bench of Justices Manoj Sharma and Nripadhwaj Niraula has issued a verdict to make arrangements to impose legal liability for failure to disclose the details of gifts received by the government officials to the concerned bodies.
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The SC has directed that a comprehensive list of gifts received by all civil servants on various occasions be compiled and made public on a website or other appropriate means.
The SC has also mentioned that the law should clarify whether gifts kept by officials are considered taxable income or not. In cases where the officials want to keep gifts that are more expensive than the specified price limit, the SC has sought that the concerned officials must purchase the gifts from the government.
According to the directive on foreign visits, lunches and dinners and gifts of special categories of government officials, it has asked the concerned to provide the details of the gifts received should be included in the report submitted after returning from the visit.
However, since these provisions are limited to the directive and code of conduct only, the SC has pointed out that a legal basis is needed to regulate the ownership, evaluation, recording, classification and management of gifts in the long term.
