KATHMANDU, Aug 11: Rupandehi District Court has ordered Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairperson Rabi Lamichhane remain in custody.
Lamichhane had filed a petition to pay the claimed amount as bail and sought a regular hearing date in the Supreme Cooperative fraud case. However, a single bench of Judge Narayan Prasad Sapkota at the Rupandehi District Court dismissed his request.
Judge Sapkota’s bench ruled that Lamichhane’s plea to secure release by settling the claimed amount will not be granted.
Case against Rabi Lamichhane and 42 others taken to Rupandehi D...
Earlier, a bench led by Judge Bashisht Kumar Ghimire at the same court had set his bail at Rs 10 million on charges of fraud and organized crime for the embezzlement of money from Supreme Cooperative.
Welcoming the court order, Lamichhane challenged the decision and approached the High Court, seeking cancellation of bail and a regular hearing date. However, the Butwal bench of the High Court in Tulsipur ordered his continued detention for judicial investigation on April 4.
Subsequently, he filed another petition at the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the High Court’s decision.
After the Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s ruling, Lamichhane, still in custody, submitted another petition on August 4 at the Rupandehi District Court, requesting a regular hearing date by paying the settlement amount as per Section 131(k) of the Cooperative Act.
In his petition, Lamichhane acknowledged that the law may not apply to his case but stated he had submitted a bank guarantee worth Rs 284 million for settlement. Notably, Subsection 2 of Section 131 prohibits settlements for accused individuals involved in organized crime and money laundering. Lamichhane faces charges of cooperative fraud and organized crime in Rupandehi.
During the hearing before Judge Sapkota’s bench, Lamichhane’s legal team—Narayan Kandel, Mahendra Pandey, and Rajendra Thapa—presented their arguments.
