Himal Press 
RSP President Rabi Lamichhane
BUTWAL: The Rupandehi District Court has rejected Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President and former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane’s plea seeking release from judicial custody.
The bench of District Judge Narayan Prasad Sapkota issued the order on Monday.
Lamichhane had submitted a petition, along with a bank guarantee of Rs 27.48 million—the claimed amount for compensation—on August 4, seeking his release on bail.
According to Rupandehi District Court Spokesperson Padam Aryal, the request was denied because it did not meet legal requirements. The court cited that the charges against Lamichhane involve not only fraud but also organized crime; that there are multiple defendants; that the total amount of losses has not been fully determined; and that further evidence still needs to be collected, he added.
Senior advocates Narayan Datta Kandel, Rajendra Thapa and Mahendra Pandey, who argued on Lamichhane’s behalf, argued that he posed no risk of tampering with evidence or fleeing, and that, as an elected representative, he should be released on a bank guarantee.
Lamichhane has been in judicial custody at Bhairahawa Prison since the first week of April after the Butwal bench of Tulsipur High Court ordered his judicial remand for trial in the Supreme Cooperative fraud case.
