Legal Questions Surround Status of Newly Elected Lawmakers Ravi Lamichhane and Tek Bahadur Gurung

Kathmandu. There is significant public interest regarding whether Rabi Lamichhane, Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, and Tek Bahadur Gurung of the Nepali Congress will be able to perform their duties as members of the House of Representatives.

Although both were elected in the recently concluded House of Representatives elections, cases are currently pending against Lamichhane and Gurung in court.

Lamichhane was previously suspended from his role in the 2079 parliament after then-Speaker Devraj Ghimire published a notice of suspension following three charges against him: cooperative fraud, organized crime, and money laundering. Lamichhane took the oath of office as a member of the House of Representatives on Thursday after the registration of the cases related to cooperative fraud, money laundering, and organized crime.

Following Lamichhane's oath, legal experts have offered differing arguments on whether he will participate in parliamentary roles or face suspension. Senior Advocate Tikaram Bhattarai stated that Lamichhane's Member of Parliament (MP) status should be suspended once the cases related to money laundering and organized crime are registered.

Article 27 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act stipulates that any employee, official, or public servant shall be automatically suspended until the case is resolved. Bhattarai argues that even though Lamichhane won the House of Representatives election, his MP status should be suspended while the money laundering case remains active.

However, Senior Advocate Madhav Kumar Basnet argues that since Lamichhane's case is currently under consideration in the Supreme Court, he will retain his MP status now that he has taken the oath. Basnet stated, "The position remains until the final resolution of a criminal charge." Lamichhane's case is currently pending in court.

According to Basnet, the law does not prevent Lamichhane from participating in parliamentary roles.

Regarding Nepali Congress MP Tek Bahadur Gurung, although the Special Court convicted him of corruption, his appeal case is currently pending in the Supreme Court. Senior Advocate Basnet stated that in this situation, Gurung is entitled to perform his parliamentary duties.

Basnet added that if Gurung is ultimately convicted of corruption when the case is finally resolved, his MP status will be suspended; otherwise, there will be no obstacle to him performing his parliamentary duties.

Advocate Ananta Raj Luintel argued that Rabi Lamichhane should not perform parliamentary duties because the cases of money laundering and organized crime against him are pending in court. He stated that even if Lamichhane takes the oath of office as an MP, the legal process will advance if anyone files a writ petition against it.

He clarified that concerning Tek Bahadur Gurung, even though he was convicted by the Special Court in the corruption case, his position will either be maintained or suspended depending on the decision made by the Parliament Secretariat, as his case is currently pending in the Supreme Court.