The Patan High Court has acquitted Sandeep Lamichhane of rape overturning the Kathmandu District Court’s verdict.
According to the court’s deputy registrar and spokesperson Bimal Parajuli, a bench of Judges Sudarshan Dev Bhatta and Anju Upreti Dhakal overturned the district court’s verdict and ruled Lamichhane innocent.
“The district court’s verdict has been overturned, Sandeep Lamichhane has been acquitted,” Parajuli said.
On December 29 last year, a bench of Kathmandu District Court Judge Shishir Dhakal found Lamichhane guilty of raping a girl.
On January 10, the bench sentenced Lamichhane to eight years in prison and fined him Rs 300,000. It also ordered him to pay a compensation of Rs 200,000 to the victim.
The High Court Government Attorney Office appealed the verdict at the Patan High Court on March 12, 2024, seeking maximum punishment against Lamichhane. The appeal was registered a day later.
Lamichhane himself had appealed at the Patan High Court against the district court’s verdict. On February 22, the high court allowed him to appeal against the district court’s verdict staying out of the jail.
