Lamichhane, ex-DIG Joshi refuse to accept court summons
According to Rupandehi Prison officials, the two declined to sign the summons document, which was sent as part of implementing the court’s Friday order.
KATHMANDU: Former Home Minister Ravi Lamichhane and former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Chhabilal Joshi, currently in Rupandehi Prison, have refused to accept a court notice issued by the Pokhara High Court regarding an ongoing cooperative fraud case.
According to Rupandehi Prison officials, the two declined to sign the summons document, which was sent as part of implementing the court’s Friday order.
The prison administration formally informed the High Court on Sunday that both detainees refused to acknowledge receipt of the notice.
The case relates to allegations of cooperative fraud, organized crime, and money laundering in which Lamichhane is one of the main accused.
The hearings on an appeal demanding the annulment of the Kaski District Court’s earlier order began in Pokhara on Thursday.
On Sunday, a joint bench of Chief Judge Dr. Ratna Bahadur Bagchand and Justice Milan Kumar Rai instructed the court’s petition section to submit a detailed report clarifying whether the refusal to sign was deliberate or due to some other reason.
The court has directed Rupandehi Prison to respond with an official report and to provide evidence if the accused received the court notice.
The court also ordered the retrieval of original case files from the Kaski District Court.
These include documents related to a cooperative fraud complaint filed by Govinda Adhikari and others, registered on Ashoj 18, 2080, as well as a follow-up case filed on Poush 7, 2081, with additional charges.
Pokhara High Court’s Deputy Registrar Neel Paneru clarified that refusal to accept court documents does not halt legal proceedings. “If someone refuses to receive a summons, it is considered delivered through alternatives such as home delivery or public notification,” he said, adding that the next hearing date will be scheduled once the required documents and reports are received.
The issue of non-notification was raised by Lamichhane’s legal team on Friday, claiming the hearing had proceeded without proper notice. In response, the bench had deferred the hearing to Sunday under the status of “heard and pending.”
Earlier, on Poush 25 (January 9, 2025), the Kaski District Court had ordered Lamichhane’s release on a bail of Rs 6.5 million.
Both the government attorney’s office and Lamichhane’s team appealed the decision to the Pokhara High Court—Lamichhane seeking release on general date, while the state demanded continued custody.
The Pokhara High Court began hearing the appeals on Thursday.
