Hearing on Petition Against Attorney General's Move to Amend Charges in Rabi Lamichhane's Cases Concludes Without Resolution

Kathmandu. The hearing on the writ petition against the Attorney General for amending the charge sheets in the money laundering and organized crime cases against Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman Rabi Lamichhane and others, pending in various courts across the country, could not be concluded today either.

The case, scheduled before the bench of Justices Sharanga Subedi and Sunil Kumar Pokharel, was kept under 'heard but not finished' status after the arguments, which began on Sunday, could not be completed by Tuesday. The hearing for the case will now take place on Thursday. Senior Advocates Sushil Pant and Raman Kumar Shrestha, and Advocates Dipendra Jha and Narayan Dutt Kandel argued on behalf of Lamichhane.

Following the arguments by Lamichhane's lawyers, Surendra Bhandari and others presented a rebuttal argument. They argued that the writ should be issued, contending that the case was withdrawn rather than the charge sheet being amended, and that the Attorney General had abused her legal authority.

In a 7-page 'Comment and Order' endorsed by Attorney General Sabita Bhandari on Poush 30, District Government Attorney Offices were directed to prosecute Lamichhane only in the cooperative fraud case and drop the other two serious charges.

Although applications were submitted to the Kaski and Rupandehi District Courts according to the directive given by Attorney General Bhandari, the hearing could not proceed because the case is sub judice in the Supreme Court. In accordance with the directive from the Attorney General's Office, the government attorney offices in Kathmandu and Parsa have not yet filed applications in the District Courts to amend the charge sheets against Lamichhane and others.

This has been corrected as the previous news title contained an error.