Kathmandu, August 12
The Rupandehi District Court on Monday evening refused to release former Home Minister and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane on bail with a bank guarantee, citing two legal grounds under the Criminal Procedure Code, 2017.
Lamichhane had sought release based on Sections 68 and 71 of the Code, which allow for bail or release at any stage of proceedings. However, Judge Narayan Prasad Sapkota ruled that the matter had already been settled through the court hierarchy up to the Supreme Court, which had overturned a previous bail order. The court held it could not revisit the same provision in such circumstances.
The first reason given for the refusal was that, under the Cooperative Act and the Organised Crime Prevention Act, the exact amount of financial loss attributed to Lamichhane in the ongoing cooperative fraud case had not yet been determined. While Lamichhane had submitted a bank guarantee for what he claimed was his share of the loss, the court said the total liability was still unconfirmed.
Secondly, under Section 71 of the Code, a change in detention status requires new evidence that fundamentally alters the basis of an earlier order. The court said Lamichhane had not presented any such new evidence. Judge Sapkota further noted that witness statements and other evidence were still pending, making Section 71 inapplicable in this case.
The court also stressed the need for speedy adjudication given the nature of the case and instructed that proceedings in the Suprem Cooperative case be carried out promptly. Lamichhane will now remain in custody until the conclusion of the trial at the Rupandehi District Court.
