Kathmandu, December 18
The court has ordered the release of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chair Rabi Lamichhane from custody.
Ram Bahadur Kunwar, Information Officer at the Butwal High Court, said the court ordered Lamichhane to be released upon furnishing bail of NPR 268 million. Additionally, the High Court has also ordered the submission of an additional NPR 100 million as a security deposit.
The hearing of the case was conducted by a bench comprising Justices Basu Dev Acharya and Tej Narayan Poudel. During the proceedings, the bench set three conditions for his release.
Lamichhane will be released only after complying with these conditions.
First condition: If he needs to travel abroad, either in a personal or institutional capacity, he must inform the court in advance. The High Court has ordered that he may travel abroad only after obtaining prior permission.
Second condition: After his release, if the verdict later requires him to pay additional compensation or fines, he must submit a written commitment agreeing to do so. The High Court order states that since liability will be determined as per the final verdict, he must agree in writing to pay any additional amount if such liability is created.
Third condition: The High Court stated that the amount set by the district court as bail and the proportional amount of potential compensation must be submitted through a bank guarantee. However, since Lamichhane had already submitted this earlier, it does not appear to remain an active condition.
Now, the district court will verify the same bank guarantee and proceed with the process to release Lamichhane from custody.
