Rabi Lamichhane Case: Supreme Court Adjourns Hearing on Attorney General's Appeal Modification

Kathmandu. The hearing on the writ petition against the Attorney General for amending the indictment in the money laundering and organized crime case against Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman Rabi Lamichhane has been placed on the 'to be heard' list after the arguments could not be completed.

The case, which was scheduled before the bench of Justices Sharanga Subedi and Sunil Kumar Pokharel, had its arguments begin on Sunday. As the rebuttal arguments by one party remained incomplete on Tuesday, the writ has been placed on the 'to be heard' list for Thursday's hearing. The verdict is expected after senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi presents his rebuttal arguments on Thursday.

Senior advocates Sushil Pant, 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 their rebuttal arguments. They argued that the writ should be issued, claiming that the case was withdrawn without amending the indictment and that the Attorney General had misused his legal authority.

In the 7-page 'Comment and Order' endorsed by Attorney General Savita Bhandari on Poush 30, instructions were given to the District Government Attorney's Offices to proceed with the case against Lamichhane only for cooperative fraud and drop the other two serious charges.

Although applications were presented in the Kaski and Rupandehi District Courts according to the directive issued 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's offices in Kathmandu and Parsa have not filed applications in the District Courts to amend the indictment against Lamichhane and others.