The Thimphu district court has acquitted former thrompon (mayor) of Thimphu city corporation, Phuntsho Wangdi, who had been charged with illegally regularizing 2.4 decimal of excess land by the Office of the Attorney General.
The court ruled that the former thrompon had legally regularised the excess land in his name, with the approval of a competent authority.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) had charged Phuntsho Wangdi with the illegal transfer of immovable property and official misconduct. He was also charged for double regularization of the same land, by obtaining approval from the minister for Works and Human Settlement ministry through deceptive practice. The land was first regularized by the previous land owner in 2000.
The court statement stated that during the trial the resolution of 58th and 75th sessions of the National Assembly were raised in determining the legality of double regularization of 2.4 decimal of land, that the defendant had bought when he was serving as thrompon.
It stated that the resolution of the 74th session of the National Assembly and the land act does stand the test of legality of double regularization. “The procedures, that were followed to effect the regularization of 2.4 decimal of land by the defendant, were found to be legally standing,� said the drangpon of bench III, Tashi Chozom. “The land act permits regularizing land, that was omitted while preparing the new thram, if such omission was reported within a period of five years.�
Drangpon Tashi Chozom said that the competent authority was not deceived by the defendant while seeking approval. “The repeated submission of the concerned minister to the court is self evident that the minister had prior knowledge of the issue and had approved it under the authority vested in him as the competent authority,� she told Kuensel.
OAG officials said that they were totally dissatisfied with the judgment. “This is one case where the laws are very clear,� said the lawyer who prosecuted the case.
According to prosecutor, it was not a case of records being dropped or omitted in the new thram from the old but a case of regularizing excess land twice. “The court’s recognition of double regularization also means mean in future the permissibility of regularization of government land, as many times as possible by people, so long as there’s land,� the prosecutor said.
The OAG officials said that they would definitely appeal after reviewing the judgment with ACC. All five other cases of TCC also went to appeal.
Source: Kuenselonline
