Lamichhane arrest hearing postponed

KATHMANDU: The hearing on the enforcement of the arrest of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chair and former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane was postponed again on Monday.

The case was scheduled before a bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut and Justice Nityananda Pandey.

However, the bench deferred the hearing, citing it was not the appropriate bench to hear the case.

The next hearing has now been scheduled for Tuesday.

Previously, on Sunday, a bench led by Justices Manoj Kumar Sharma and Sunil Kumar Pokharel had ordered the case to be assigned to a suitable bench.

Lamichhane was released on Rs 10 million bail by the District Court of Rupandehi in a Supreme Cooperative scam case.

However, following an appeal by the government’s attorney to the High Court in Tulsipur, Butwal, the High Court ordered his detention on Chaitra 22, leading to his re-arrest and imprisonment in Rupandehi jail.

In a writ petition, Lamichhane claimed his arrest was illegal and that he was sent to jail three days after the arrest, demanding immediate release and annulment of the High Court’s detention order.

Another accused in the same case, former DIG Chhabilal Joshi, is also in custody at Rupandehi jail.

Despite Joshi’s detention, the District Court had granted bail to Lamichhane, prompting the government’s attorney to appeal for equal treatment and legal action against Lamichhane.