A complaint has been filed with the Judicial Council regarding the application submitted by Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane to the Rupandehi District Court, seeking release on bail equivalent to the amount claimed against him.
Advocate Ramesh Bahadur Rawal filed the complaint, stating that the application was registered illegally since the Tulsipur High Court and the Supreme Court had both ordered Lamichhane to be sent to judicial custody.
Rawal confirmed that his complaint has been registered with the Judicial Council. "It has been registered under No. 88. Now, the Judicial Council will proceed accordingly," he said.
The application, filed under Section 71 of the National Criminal Procedure Code, which has already become irrelevant, aims to influence pending judicial decisions in the ongoing case, Rawal said in the complaint.
He further alleged that the application only mentions the fraud charge against Lamichhane, ignoring other charges, and creates confusion regarding potential imprisonment and fines that could result from the court's verdict.
"The application does not mention all the charges against him, only referring to the fraud case, and conceals matters related to potential imprisonment and fines. It misleadingly claims that, in a case involving 22 defendants, only four will be found guilty, arbitrarily dividing the amount of claims and asserting that a certain percentage pertains to him. By doing so, he has essentially decided his own case by filing an application that should not have been registered," the complaint states.
Rawal further claimed that, in addition to the fraud charge, Lamichhane faces allegations under the Organized Crime Prevention Act, and that efforts are being made to secure his release from the Rupandehi District Court against the Supreme Court's order. He also alleged that individuals close to Lamichhane have been publicizing that three specific judges of the Rupandehi District Court will issue an order to release him.
"Three judges currently serving in the Rupandehi District Court have been specifically named, with claims that they have already prepared an order outside the courtroom to release Rabi. Therefore, an investigation should be conducted into this matter immediately and action should be taken against the judges preparing such an order outside the courtroom," Rawal stated in the complaint.
He further claimed that the application, which should not have been registered, was accepted under pressure and influence, and that there is a strong likelihood that it could lead to the release of the defendant.
"A thorough investigation should be conducted into the illegal registration of this application and related activities, and the guilty should face the maximum punishment to uphold the integrity and dignity of an independent judiciary," Rawal wrote in the complaint.
A hearing on Lamichhane’s application is scheduled for Monday before Judge Narayan Prasad Sapkota’s bench.
Lamichhane has requested to be released from custody upon submitting a bank guarantee of Rs 27.48 million.
