Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Butwal Bench of Tulsipur High Court has ordered the original case file of the cooperative fraud and organised crime case involving Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane and former Chhabilal Joshi, former director of Gorkha Media Ltd, both of whom are currently in judicial custody pending trial.
A division bench of High Court Judges Om Prakash Aryal and Basudev Acharya issued the order on Thursday. The hearing had been scheduled for today after the court received the initial case file, which the High Court had sought last week.
Earlier, Former Home Minister Lamichhane had requested that he be released on bail after depositing the amount equivalent to his alleged financial liability in the case. However, Judge Narayan Sapkota of the Rupandehi District Court had rejected his plea for release during a hearing on August 11. He subsequently challenged the district court’s verdict at the Tulsipur High Court on August 25. During the hearing last week, the High Court directed the District Court to forward copies of the case file for review.
Lamichhane and others have been made defendants in a case related to the alleged embezzlement of funds from the Butwal-based Supreme Cooperative. They have been accused of fraud amounting to Rs 109.36 million.
The Former Home Minister petitioned the high court for his release by depositing Rs 27.48 million, his share of the alleged loss, as a bank guarantee.
