A corruption case has been filed against former Prime Minister and CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairperson Madhav Kumar Nepal in connection with the controversial land deal involving Patanjali Yogpeeth. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Thursday filed the case at the Special Court against Nepal and several other individuals implicated in the alleged misappropriation of land.
With this, his parliamentary position has been automatically suspended. For the first time in Nepal’s history, a corruption case has been filed against a former prime minister. Notably, this is the first time a corruption case has been pursued over a Cabinet decision.
Nepal has been implicated along with 93 others. The case against Nepal demands a fine and punishment, with a claim for damages amounting to Rs 185.85m. For the other defendants, the claimed damage amounts vary.
The charges stem from a Cabinet decision made during Madhav Kumar Nepal’s tenure as Prime Minister, which granted Patanjali Yogpeeth a special permission to purchase 815 ropani of land in Bancha village of Kavrepalanchok district. Patanjali, a prominent Indian organization known for promoting Ayurvedic medicine, had registered a subsidiary in Nepal in 2007 with plans to build a hospital, herbal farm and educational facilities.
Under Nepal’s land ceiling laws, private companies are generally barred from owning such large tracts of land. However, the Cabinet, led by Nepal at the time, granted Patanjali an exemption on the condition that the land would be used exclusively for medicinal and educational purposes. Investigations revealed that Patanjali began selling parts of the acquired land soon after the purchase—some reportedly within months—violating the Land Act of 1964, which explicitly prohibits the sale of land obtained under such special exemptions.
The Cabinet decision had also specified that any funds from the sale of such land must be reinvested into acquiring other land for the same purpose, a condition Patanjali allegedly ignored. CIAA’s case accuses the defendants of abusing authority, violating existing land laws and causing financial loss to the state by facilitating and failing to prevent the illegal transfer and sale of land.
Meanwhile, Nepal has said that he did nothing wrong in the Patanjali land case. He said that if there were any irregularities, they might have been committed by government employees. “I never even imagined that something like that could happen in an institution like Patanjali,” he said. “If there were any irregularities or mismanagement in the land acquisition process, it must have been done by staff. I had no involvement.” He said he made the decision to provide land to Patanjali with the intention of promoting public health in Nepal.
“I can’t speak much without fully understanding how and where loopholes were created, or whether anyone deliberately left gaps. But I did nothing wrong on my part—it wasn’t even in my mind,” he added. Nepal said he is not afraid just because a case has been filed, as he has never engaged in wrongdoing. “To be afraid, one must have done something wrong. I haven’t done anything inappropriate, nor do I support any inappropriate activities,” he said.
Nepal also accused Prime Minister KP Oli of being against him from the very beginning. “To speak plainly, KP Oli has been targeting me from the start. His intention is to end my political career,” he said. “He has tried multiple times in the past. He is someone who acts out of a sense of revenge.”
While the case was filed, he was in his home district Rautahat and he arrived in Kathmandu later in the evening. He has said that he will consult with legal experts and then publicly share a more detailed response.
