Rabi Lamichhane
BUTWAL: The Butwal bench of the Tulsipur High Court has ordered the release of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairperson and former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane on bail, subject to five conditions.
A division bench of High Court Judges Basudev Acharya and Tej Narayan Paudel issued the order on Thursday.
Lamichhane has been in custody on charges of organized crime and the embezzlement of funds from Butwal’s Supreme Cooperative.
The verdict overturns an earlier ruling by Judge Narayan Sapkota of the Rupandehi District Court dated August 11, which had denied his release even after he deposited his portion of the embezzled amount.
Following the district court’s order, Lamichhane and former DIG Chhabilal Joshi filed a petition at the High Court.
Ram Bahadur Kunwar, the information officer for the high court’s Butwal Bench, told Himal Press that the court has cleared the way for Lamichhane’s release. “In case of Chhabilal Joshi, it has ordered that the original case files be sent back to the Rupandehi District Court for reconsideration,” he added.
The court noted that since Lamichhane has provided a bank guarantee for his proportionate share of the claimed amount, his request to proceed with the trial outside of custody under Section 71 of the National Criminal Procedure Code, 2017, is justifiable. Specifically, the conditions include accepting the bail amount previously requested by the Rupandehi District Court and securing a bank guarantee of Rs 27.48 million to cover the claimed embezzlement amount.
Furthermore, the court has said that Lamichhane must provide prior notification before embarking on foreign trips and must sign a written commitment to fulfill any additional financial liabilities that may arise upon the final verdict.
Advocates Mahendra Prasad Pandey, Baburam Pandey, Dr Narayan Datta Kandel and Dipendra Jha pleaded for Lamichhane during the hearing, while Joshi’s defense included Senior Advocate Shiva Prasad Gaudel and Advocates Manoj Kumar Chaudhary and Rochak Joshi.
Following Lamichhane’s release order, RSP supporters gathered at the High Court premises in Butwal and chanted slogans in favor of Lamichhane. Madhu Aryal, an RSP leader in Rupandehi, said that the court’s decision has restored faith in the judiciary.
Meanwhile, a rally was taken out in Butwal to welcome the court’s verdict.
