KATHMANDU, Aug 9: In the cooperative fraud case, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairperson Rabi Lamichhane—currently in judicial custody—was ordered to post bail not by just one court, but by five different district courts, all of which stated that “it cannot be said he is not guilty.” The courts of Kaski, Rupandehi, Chitwan, Kathmandu, and Parsa mentioned in their orders that they did not see a “reasonable basis to believe that the accused had not committed the crime” while demanding bail for his release.
Although the district courts released him on bail, the Butwal bench of the High Court in Tulsipur, on April 4, 2025, ordered that Lamichhane be sent to judicial custody for the trial. The Butwal High Court’s order was based on six grounds. Lamichhane approached the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to overturn that decision, but the SC upheld the High Court’s ruling.
In the case filed by the government attorney regarding the embezzlement of funds from Supreme Cooperative, the Rupandehi District Court, on January 26, 2025, ordered Lamichhane’s release on bail of 10 million rupees. In the government attorney’s appeal against this order, the Butwal bench of the Tulsipur High Court, on 4 April 2025, reversed the district court’s decision and sent Lamichhane to judicial custody for trial. He has now been in prison for four months. On February 13, 2025, the Butwal government attorney’s office filed an appeal against the district court’s decision to release Lamichhane on bail with a 10 million rupee bond. The High Court’s decision was based on that appeal.
According to the High Court’s ruling, “The available evidence shows that the public’s savings from Supreme Cooperative, through the coordinated effort of the defendants including Lamichhane, came into Gorkha Media Pvt. Ltd. Although a corporate entity like Gorkha Media is not legally allowed to take loans from cooperatives, funds were taken from the cooperative with the knowledge, planning, and active involvement of the defendants. Lamichhane was not an employee but a director, shareholder, and managing director of Gorkha Media. He issued checks for transactions involving these funds. His claim that he did not know how the funds came from the cooperative, and his attempt to blame other defendants, does not appear credible at first glance.”
The court also cited as grounds for custody that bank cheques had been used for embezzlement and that the funds of thousands of ordinary depositors were put at risk.
Further, the ruling stated, “Although Lamichhane claims he had no responsibility regarding the funds received by Gorkha Media, evidence shows that Gorkha Media Pvt. Ltd. issued a cheque for 4,092,000 rupees from its Global IME Bank account to pay Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative on January 6, 2022.
Kaski Court orders release of RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane on Rs 6...
Considering these facts, the defendants are accused under Sections 122(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (j) of the Cooperative Act 2074 BS, as well as Sections 9(a) and (c) of the Organized Crime Prevention Act 2070 BS, which require the slapping of punishment. Even though various documentary evidence is already on record, key witnesses—such as accountant Sanjay Adhikari, Rajani Shrestha, and Bishesh Bibhu Acharya—have yet to testify. Given the sensitive situation in which thousands of depositors have been victimized, releasing the defendant on bail would be inappropriate for maintaining public trust in the justice system.”
Since the SC upheld the High Court’s order, Lamichhane has deposited bail at the district court, effectively accepting his guilt. He has maintained in public that he is innocent and a victim of political vendetta. However, with five district courts finding no basis for innocence, the High Court sending him to custody, and the SC upholding that decision, his depositing of bail at the district court is seen as an acceptance of guilt.
Lamichhane, accused of the Supreme Cooperative fraud, has submitted bank guarantees worth Rs 27,484,000. In the Rupandehi Supreme Cooperative fraud case, the total damages for all defendants amount to 109.9 million rupees. Lamichhane has sought release by paying only the portion of damages attributed to him.
On August 4, Lamichhane filed a petition to be released after depositing bail equal to his share of the damages, as claimed in the indictment. He has already submitted a bank guarantee of Rs 27,484,000 to the Rupandehi District Court.
In his petition, Lamichhane requested release under Sections 68 and 71 of the National Penal Code 2074 BS. However, Senior Advocate Ram Narayan Bidari noted that Section 71 has never been used in practice. He explained that after a remand order is issued, a court can release an accused before the final verdict only if new evidence proving innocence emerges—something that does not appear to be the case for Lamichhane. "In Rabi’s case, I see no such new evidence. Therefore, I don’t think the court will accept the bail he has offered,” said Bidari. “The Rupandehi court can interpret this.”
Legal experts say Lamichhane’s case is linked to organized crime, and that his claims of political vendetta are just propaganda. If it were only a fraud case, reconciliation might have been possible by repaying the victims, but because organized crime is involved, paying damages does not guarantee release. “You must understand that organized crime is not a civil case. If it were just fraud, the victims’ money could be repaid and a settlement made,” said Senior Advocate Dinesh Tripathi.
They also noted that an earlier order had already been issued under Section 68 of the National Penal (Code) Act, 2074 BS, for release on bail, and the High Court had added further clarification, making the current bail request irrelevant. “One can say they’ll post bail, but when the SC has upheld the custody order, it appears to be only political propaganda,” said Senior Advocate Bidari.
Four reasons for demanding bail
On January 26, 2025, the bench of Rupandehi District Court Judge Prahlad Kumar Yogi gave four reasons for demanding a bail of Rs 10 million from Rabi Lamichhane. The court order stated, “Since there is no reasonable ground to believe, based on the immediately available evidence submitted with the case file, that the accused has not committed the alleged offense, and further evidence will determine the matter accordingly, for now, the accused Rabi Lamichhane shall be released on bail of Rs 10 million as per Section 68 of the National Penal (Code) Act, 2074, to be deposited by the specified date.”
The first point was based on the statement given by Omprakash Gurung and Kumar Ramtel, the chairman and another official of Supreme Cooperative in Butwal, who testified before Gorkha Media Network that Lamichhane, the MD of Gorkha Media Network, and the Lamichhane who took a loan of Rs 20 million from Supreme Cooperative are the same person, after Lamichhane had denied taking the loan.
Similarly, the audit report of Gorkha Media showed that Rs 109,936,000 had been transferred from Supreme Cooperative, and an amount of NPR 19,600,000 was disbursed under Lamichhane’s name without security. Moreover, co-accused Chhiblal Joshi’s statement that Lamichhane and G.B. Rai were responsible for all financial transactions of Gorkha Media Network was also considered another basis for bail.
Furthermore, accountants of Gorkha Media, Sanjay Adhikari and Rajani Shrestha, testified that G.B. Rai sometimes signed checks, and when he was unavailable, Lamichhane signed the checks, which became the third reason for demanding bail.
The fourth reason cited by the court was the parliamentary investigation committee’s report, which stated that Rs 7.5 million was deposited in Gorkha Media Company’s bank account under Lamichhane’s name, and the financial analysis report that confirmed that then Managing Director Lamichhane himself conducted financial transactions. The order also noted that Lamichhane had taken an advance of Rs 1.7 million from Gorkha Media.
“The minutes of the Board of Directors meeting of Gorkha Media Network Pvt. Ltd. also show the presence of the accused Rabi Lamichhane. The accounts operated jointly in the names of the accused Ravi Lamichhane and other co-accused persons with Global IME Bank account no. 004010100000577, Nabil Bank account no. 01901017502181, and Civil Bank account no. 00210612110012. The checks issued from these accounts bear the signature of the accused Rabi Lamichhane, as evident from the submitted case files. The accused himself stated that these checks are genuine. Since no reasonable grounds exist to believe that the accused Rabi Lamichhane has not committed the offense, and further evidence will clarify the matter, the Rupandehi District Court ordered on Magh 13 to release the accused Rabi Lamichhane on cash bail of Rs 10 million, or a suitable surety or unconditional bank guarantee, as per Section 68 of the National Penal (Code) Act, 2074 BS, to be deposited by the specified date,” the court order read.
3.2 million signatures in support
In support of RSP Chairperson and former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, 3,206,608 signatures have been collected. According to RSP spokesperson Manish Jha, 6,216,669 rupees in donations have also been raised as of Friday.
Lamichhane is currently in the Bhairahawa-based prison. The RSP claims the state has acted against him out of revenge over the cooperative fraud case. In protest, the RSP launched a signature collection campaign on 21 June 2025, calling for voluntary contributions. In response, over 6.2 million rupees have been raised.