Supreme Court Continues Hearing on Plea Against Withdrawal of Organized Crime, Money Laundering Charges Against Rabi Lamichhane

The Supreme Court is continuing the hearing today on the writ petition filed against the withdrawal of the charges of organized crime and money laundering filed against Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman Rabi Lamichhane in connection with cooperative fraud.

The hearing has been ongoing since Monday before the bench of Supreme Court Justices Binod Sharma and Abdul Aziz Muslim. On Monday, the lawyers for the writ petitioners presented their initial arguments. The arguments of the writ petitioners are still pending. Following that, the lawyers representing Lamichhane will present their defense arguments.

Previously, a bench of Justices Saranga Subedi and Sunil Kumar Pokharel had ordered the summoning of the file related to the amendment of the case involving Lamichhane and others.

Attorney General Savita Bhandari had directed the District Government Attorney's Offices to amend the cases of organized crime and money laundering, along with cooperative fraud, pending in various districts against Lamichhane.

Subsequently, Senior Advocate Dinesh Tripathi, law students Ayush Badal, and Yuvraj Poudel filed a writ petition against that decision. In the seven-page 'Comment and Order' endorsed by Attorney General Bhandari on Poush 30, District Government Attorney's Offices were directed to proceed with the case against Lamichhane only for cooperative fraud and drop the other two serious charges.

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