A high court in Nepal has directed the imprisonment of former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in connection with a cooperative scam case.
The Butwal bench of the Tulsipur High Court overturned the Rupandehi District Court’s ruling on Friday night and sentenced former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane to prison.
A joint bench of justices, consisting of Swikriti Parajuli and Ramesh Dhakal, had earlier that evening opted to keep Lamichhane under arrest. The bench also maintained the district court’s ruling to place Chhabilal Joshi, the former director of Gorkha Media Network and Deputy Inspector General (DIG), in judicial custody.
What did the court say?
Judges Ramesh Dhakal and Swikriti Parajuli overturned the Rupandehi District Court’s earlier decision to release Rabi Lamichhane on bail, Deputy Registrar Harigopal Gyawali confirmed to ANI over the phone.
The district court granted Lamichhane a bond of NPR 10 million on January 26 and required him to appear for his scheduled court dates. Then, appealing against the terms established by the lower court, Lamichhane appealed the ruling to the High Court. At the time, the court declared it would conduct further investigation during the trial, as the available information did not provide a compelling reason to believe he had not committed the alleged crime.
In a subsequent appeal to the High Court, the District Government Attorney’s Office contended that Lamichhane ought to remain in jail because of the gravity of the accusations and the reliability of the evidence.
Authorities have lodged cases against Lamichhane in different parts of the country
Rabi Lamichhane, the founder of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and a former home minister, is facing numerous accusations, including cooperative frauds in the districts of Parsa, Kaski, Butwal, Kathmandu, and Chitwan.
Authorities have charged him with transferring funds from several cooperatives, including Supreme Cooperative in Butwal and Sahara Cooperative in Chitwan, to his Gorkha Media Network, which operated the now-defunct Galaxy 4K Television.
On October 18, 2024, the Central Investigation Bureau arrested Lamichhane on suspicion of misappropriating cooperative funds and engaging in organized crime
A parliamentary committee report, approved by the House and created on May 28 of last year, found that fraudulent paperwork from several cooperatives was used to transfer millions of rupees into Gorkha Media. In violation of cooperative rules, Rabi Lamichhane, the current Member of Parliament and former Home Minister, was managing director of Gorkha Media at the time of the investments. Lamichhane has admitted to having a part in the business, saying he owned sweat equity.
Angelina Jolie Calls Gaza a “Mass Grave” for Palestinians 
Star Wars Fans Light Up Japan 
Anti-Trump Protests Erupt Across U.S. Cities 
Judge Rules Google Maintained Illegal Monopoly 
Teachers’ Demands Cannot Be Addressed in Budget Session 
Gagan Thapa on Kulman, Says Ministers Should Focus on What Matters