The Speaker Jigme Tshultim’s Legal Counsel, Cheda, reiterated that Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has no mandate to prosecute the case in the court for supposed actions that happened before the enactment of the ACC Act.
The Legal Counsel was presenting the Speaker’s preliminary statement to the High Court on Gyalpoizhing land case, today.
Cheda went on to say the plot allotment happened more than a decade ago, and that ACC has no authority to implicate the Speaker after all these years. He also said the allotments were carried out in obedience to His Majesty’s Kasho of 1987 and the plots were also allotted in accordance to the circular issued by the then Secretary of the Ministry of Social Services and Bhutan Municipal Act of 1999.
He further added that the applications for the allotment were first forwarded to the dealing officials and it was then endorsed by the committee members. ACC had alleged that larger plots were allotted to 23 individuals.
ACC will submit its rebuttal this Friday.
Meanwhile, Legal Counsel, Jamyang Sherab Wangdi, while presenting the Home Minister’s and the Committee Members’ closing argument to the High Court, said that ACC did not understand the interrelations between section 294 (a) and (b) of the Penal Code of Bhutan.
He said these clauses both directly and indirectly refer to authority which means both the Minister and the Committee Members had the authority to allot plots without contravening Section 294 of the Penal Code.
Jamyang Sherab Wangdi said the nature of the case pertaining to Lyonpo Minjur and the Committee Members are the same as the same committee members allotted plots to Kharchu Dratshang, Dramedtse Dratshang and Kinzang Dema.
