Misinformation:

The National Newspaper headline and editorial published just days before National Day harmed the Supreme Court’s image by wrongly suggesting that it overspent on Hospitality and Entertainment (H&E) expenses ‘beyond the annual ceiling of Nu. 1.5 million, clubbing with other ministries facing irregularities.’

Reality:

On the contrary, the Audit reports from the past three years confirm that Judiciary has exercised fiscal prudence in managing H&E expenses. While cabinet ministers & equivalent ranks have a legal ceiling of Nu. 1.5 million, the Supreme Court (SC) has received only about one-third of this amount, yet SC never claimed or spent even that modest allocation.

Similarly, the SC never received or requisitioned the so-called ‘one-time joining expenses’ of Nu. 600,000. In short, the actual expenditures of SC remained much below the allocated ceiling.

Concrete details:

• In Financial Year 2020-2021: H&E budget allocation was Nu. 325,000; SC utilized Nu. 324,188.
• In Financial Year 2021-2022: H&E budget allocation was Nu. 653,000; actual expenditure was Nu. 570,818 only; unspent balance was Nu. 82,182.
• In Financial Year 2022-2023: H&E budget allocation was Nu. 420,000; actual spending was Nu. 375,332.92; unspent balance was Nu. 44,667.08.

Despite adhering to extreme austerity measures and maintaining expenditures below both government ceiling and allocated budgets, above media report inaccurately portrayed otherwise at a time when the nation celebrated the Auspicious National day, integrity and unity.

Assurance:

Despite facing baseless insinuation, the SC reassures all well-wishers that we remain unwavering in our commitment to ethics and integrity as we serve for justice with honor, without fear or favor and undue delay.