Rabi Lamichhane’s bail plea in Kaski Court, lawyers cite political motive

KATHMANDU: The debate in the case against Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane concluded at the Kaski District Court on Tuesday.

Rabi’s lawyers argued that he should be granted bail and the case should proceed for further investigation.

In the court of Judge Nitij Rai at the Kaski District Court, Senior Advocate Dr. Narayan Ghimire presented arguments for Rabi’s release.

He presented Rabi as a representative of the fourth-largest party, stating, “A person trusted by over 1.1 million people cannot flee, and there is no possibility of him violating the court’s order. Therefore, he should be granted bail and the legal process should proceed.”

The lawyers argued that the case against Rabi was politically motivated. Senior Advocate Ghimire claimed that even though Rabi was not involved in the cooperative, he had been falsely accused. “The case has been fabricated with malicious intent, disregarding legal principles and procedures,” he stated.

A case has been filed against Rabi and 44 others for the alleged embezzlement of funds from the Sunriddar Savings and Credit Cooperative in Pokhara.

The Kaski Government Attorney’s Office claims damages of over 30 crore rupees related to asset laundering and fraud.

A total of 11 lawyers, including Rabi’s legal team, presented their arguments on Monday and Tuesday. All of them claimed that Rabi was politically framed and that there was no legal basis for the case. Advocate Rajendra Sedhain said, “This case is the result of the government’s malice. Rabi has shown no behavior indicating he would flee or fail to appear in court.”

The parliamentary investigation committee on cooperative embezzlement had submitted a report to the government, revealing a loss of 65 crore rupees from five cooperatives, including Sunriddar.

Based on this, Rabi was arrested from the party office in Bansathali, Kathmandu, on the Oct 18.