Property Investigation Commission: Balendra Government Sets One-Year Deadline, Who Will Be Investigated?

The Property Investigation Commission, established by the government, has been granted a one-year mandate to complete its investigations. The chairman and members of the commission took their oaths of office and confidentiality on Wednesday. The commission, led by former Supreme Court Justice Rajendra Kumar Bhandari, includes former Appellate Court Chief Justice Purushottam Parajuli, former High Court Justice Chandiraj Dhakal, former Deputy Inspector General of Nepal Police Ganesh KC, and former Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN) Prakash Lamsal.

The Cabinet decided to form the commission during its meeting last week. Acting Chief Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla administered the oath to Chairman Bhandari on Wednesday morning, who in turn administered the oath to the other commission members, as confirmed by commission member Prakash Lamsal. Information regarding the employees and public representatives subject to investigation was provided by government spokesperson and Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Youth and Sports, Sashmit Pokharel.

The commission is tasked with collecting, verifying, and investigating the asset declarations of major political office holders and senior officials who have held public office from 2005/2006 to the current period of 2025/2026. Former Justice Chandiraj Dhakal, a commission member, has confirmed this responsibility but did not disclose further details. Member CA Lamsal stated that relevant details would soon be published in the official gazette.

Krisna Bahadur Karki, Under Secretary and Head of the Legal Division at the Ministry of Home Affairs, also stated that there is no clear information about the commission’s mandate. However, according to government officials who wished to remain anonymous, the mandate prepared for publication in the gazette includes local-level public representatives within the scope of investigation. According to one official, “Assets of the Prime Minister, Members of Parliament, as well as local-level chiefs and deputy chiefs will be investigated,” and the mandate also covers representatives and employees at the provincial level.