KATHMANDU, April 13: The hearing on the writ petition filed by Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman Rabi Lamichhane against the High Court’s remand order has concluded at the Supreme Court (SC).
SC Spokesperson Achyut Kuikel informed Republica that the hearing was held on Sunday in the single bench of Justice Tek Prasad Dhungana. The SC administration stated that the order will be issued today.
The Butwal bench of the High Court in Tulsipur, on April 9, ordered Lamichhane to be remanded in custody for pretrial detention in connection to the Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative fraud case.
Hearing concludes on writ petition against arrest warrant issue...
Challenging that order, Lamichhane’s wife Nikita Lamichhane filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on April 11. Following the High Court’s order, Lamichhane was arrested from Budhanilkantha and held at the District Police Range, Kathmandu. He spent one day in custody in Kathmandu and two days in Rupandehi before being transferred to Bhairahawa prison on Monday.
Earlier, on January 26, Judge Prahlad Kumar Yogi of the Rupandehi District Court had ordered Lamichhane’s release on a bail of Rs 10 million.
Challenging that decision, the government attorneys filed an application at the High Court demanding his pretrial detention, while Lamichhane had sought to be released on a general date by cancelling the bail requirement.
High Court Judges Ramesh Dhakal and Swikriti Parajuli, hearing both sides, quashed the district court’s decision and ordered Lamichhane to be sent to custody for pretrial detention.
Currently, he is being held at Bhairahawa prison.
