Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Special Court has acquitted 14 individuals, including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Godawari Municipality in Lalitpur, in a corruption case.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a corruption case against 14 people, including Godavari Mayor Gajendra Maharjan and Deputy Mayor Muna Adhikari, at the Special Court on June 3.
A division bench of Special Court Chairperson Tek Narayan Kunwar and Members Tejnarayan Singh Rai and Ritendra Thapa, on Wednesday, decided to acquit all 14 individuals.
In its charge sheet, the CIAA had claimed that officials of Godavari Municipality had awarded tenders for mining stones and sand at rates lower than government rates. The anti-graft body had claimed that it caused a loss of Rs 1.04 billion to the state.
“Since the municipality can only impose fees such as export tax but cannot sell the property, collecting the legally prescribed export fee by the municipality does not constitute an offense under Section 7(B) of the Corruption Prevention Act, 2002,” the Supreme Court said in its decision.
