Deadline looms for Karki cabinet to file their property details

Members of the interim council of ministers, Prime Minister Sushila Karki, have not submitted their property details as of October 29, as required by law.

Under Section 50 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059 (2002) and Section 31(a) of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Act, 2048 (1991), all public office holders must submit a detailed statement of assets within 60 days of taking office, and annually thereafter.

The cabinet has been expanded thrice since the government was formed on September 12, meaning ministers appointed on different dates face separate deadlines, with PM Karki having the fewest days.

Karki, who assumed office on the evening of September 12, must submit her property details by November 11. Ministers Rameshore Khanal (finance), Kulman Ghising (energy and physical infrastructure), and Om Prakash Aryal (home affairs), appointed on September 15, face a deadline of November 14.

The cabinet inducted four new ministers, former justice Anil Kumar Sinha (industry and law), Mahabir Pun (education), Dr Madan Kumar Pariyar (agriculture), and Jagdish Kharel (information), on September 23. They are required to submit details by November 22.

Ministers Dr Sudha Sharma Gautam (health) and Bablu Gupta (youth), who assumed office on October 26, face a deadline until December 25.
 
The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers coordinates administrative collection for the cabinet, while CIAA ensures compliance and enforces penalties. The statements must include properties held in their own name or in the names of family members, along with evidence of the sources of acquisition.

Failure to comply carries a fine of NRs 5,000. The CIAA is responsible for monitoring compliance under Section 31(a) and can impose the fine and order submission within 30 days if the deadline is missed. If the 30-day ultimatum is missed, the property will be suspected illegal and subject to investigation.

While submission is mandatory, the absence of a legal requirement to make the statements public continues to limit external scrutiny and accountability. 

Existing law explicitly treats submitted statements as confidential under Section 50(4) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which allows disclosure only in connection with investigations. Furthermore, Article 28 of the Constitution of Nepal guarantees the right to privacy, protecting property and personal documents from public disclosure except as provided by law.

This combination of statutory confidentiality and constitutional privacy has been exploited by former prime ministers and cabinet members to withhold declarations from the public, highlighting a gap between legal compliance and moral expectations of transparency.

Although the interim ministers tick on separate 60-day deadlines, and one member is yet to join—as PM Karki had announced to limit the cabinet to 11 members, the government’s one of the major mandates is ensuring transparency, which should not wait for a deadline.