The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) has denied making public a report of a judicial commission on the probe of property. The commission was formed under the coordination of then Supreme Court Justice Bhairav Prasad Lamsal by then his majesty government. Information Officer and Under Secretary at the OPMCM Shankar KC informed the information seekers that the report could not be made public reasoning it would jeopardize personal privacy, life, property, health and security. Senior journalist Taranath Dahal and Sanjib Ghimire, on October 11, 2012 had sought information with OPMCM on behalf of the RTI Support Centre of freedom1 Forum in line with clause 3 Right to Information Act 2007. After the denial of the information, the information seekers have appealed to Chief Secretary of Nepal Government on November 6, 2012 about the report reasoning they have rights to get the information. The information seekers Dahal and Ghimire have argued that the probe report submitted to the concerned body a decade back has already been a matter of public concern. Such report could help make governance transparent, they added. In the complaint made to the Chief Secretary, they further argued that Information Officer KC's decision to deny information was against law. Saying he intentionally hid the information, Mr Dahal and Ghimire demanded departmental action on Information Officer KC.
Freedom Forum is a prominent non-governmental organization in Nepal dedicated to institutionalizing democracy, protecting and promoting human rights, press freedom, freedom of expression, right to information, promoting audit accountability, open and accountable budget, public finance reforms, citizen engagement in public finance management and citizen participation in audit. Established in February 2005, the organization emerged in response to the political turmoil following Former King Gyanendra’s coup dated February 1, 2005, which imposed severe restrictions on media and democratic rights. A group of media professionals, legal experts, and academics founded Freedom Forum to safeguard Nepal’s hard-earned democratic freedoms during this repressive period.
