SC declines to hear Rabi’s detention petition
Lamichhane's wife, Nikita Poudel, had filed the petition claiming that her husband was being detained unlawfully and demanded his immediate release.
KATHMANDU: A habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane has been marked as “not to be heard” by a joint bench of Supreme Court Justices Sunil Kumar Pokharel and Bal Krishna Dhakal.
Lamichhane’s wife, Nikita Poudel, had filed the petition claiming that her husband was being detained unlawfully and demanded his immediate release.
The petition initially named the Prime Minister’s Secretariat as the respondent, but when the Secretariat refused to accept the court summons, the legal process faced delays.
Subsequently, on Baisakh 9, Justice Aziz Musalman, in an initial hearing, ordered the government to respond to the petition with a show-cause notice.
The petition was then amended to list the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers as the primary respondent, following directives from Justices Kumar Regmi and Aziz Musalman.
The case stems from Lamichhane’s alleged involvement in the Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative fraud scandal. The Rupandehi District Court had previously released him on a bail of Rs. 10 million.
However, the High Court in Tulsipur, Butwal overturned that decision on Chaitra 22, ordering Lamichhane to be held in judicial custody pending trial.
Following the High Court’s order, police apprehended Lamichhane in Kathmandu the same night. He was held for one day at the Kathmandu Police Office and for two more days in judicial custody in Rupandehi before being presented to the court.
The Supreme Court’s decision not to entertain the habeas corpus petition adds another twist to the legal battle surrounding the high-profile cooperative fraud case.
