KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court (SC) has deferred the hearing of the habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane, who is currently in judicial custody in connection with the Supreme Cooperative fraud case.
The petition, filed by Lamichhane’s wife Nikita Poudel on Sunday, argues that Lamichhane is being held unlawfully.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for today (Monday) before the single bench of Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal.
However, the hearing could not proceed as Justice Phuyal recused himself due to his previous involvement in another case involving Lamichhane—his passport misuse case—raising concerns over a possible conflict of interest.
Lamichhane was initially granted bail by the Rupandehi District Court for the cooperative fraud case, set at Rs 10 million.
However, on Chaitra 22, 2081 B.S. (April 4, 2025), the Butwal bench of the Tulsipur High Court reversed that decision, ordering his detention for pre-trial custody.
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