POKHARA: Rabi Lamichhane, the chair of Rastriya Swatantra Party, has approached the High Court challenging the Kaski District Court’s decision to grant him a bail of Rs 6.5 million in the ongoing Suryadarshan Cooperative fraud case in Pokhara.
Lamichhane, who was granted bail on January 9 by a bench led by Judge Nitij Rai in a case involving a claim of approximately Rs 280 million, expressed dissatisfaction with the bail amount.
In his petition filed at the High Court, Lamichhane argued that the district court’s decision was outdated and requested that the case be heard as per Section 69 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The petition is currently under registration at the Pokhara High Court, and Lamichhane seeks to have Judge Rai’s order overturned.
In addition, the Government Attorney’s Office has already approached the High Court, seeking that the bail orders be quashed and the accused individuals be kept in custody. They have requested a review of the case, and a plea report is expected to be submitted within 15 days, as per a directive issued by Judge Raju Kumar Khatiwada.
The Kaski District Court had also set varying bail amounts for other individuals involved in the case, including Rs 8.8 million for Lamichhane’s associate, former DIG Chhabilal Joshi, and amounts for other associates like Ram Bahadur Khanal and Gitendra Babu Rai’s associate, Leela Pachai.
The founding members of Suryadarshan Cooperative, including Meena Gurung, former UML MP, were also granted bail in amounts ranging from Rs 1 million to Rs 5 million.
The High Court will now review the case, potentially consolidating the petitions from both Lamichhane and the Government Attorney’s Office to proceed with a joint hearing.
The case centers around the alleged involvement of Lamichhane and others in a large-scale fraud, organized crime, and money laundering scheme connected to the cooperative.
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