The Kathmandu District Court on Friday convicted national cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane of rape.

A single bench of judge Shishir Raj Dhakal convicted the former captain of the national cricket team after concluding that he had raped Gushala-26, a name given to the victim, in a Tilganga-based hotel on August 21, 2022. After listening to the lawyers on both sides, the court ruled there was no dispute that Lamichhane and the victim had stayed in a same room of the hotel where she was raped.

“The accused had raped the victim taking advantage of her poor economic condition,” reads the verdict. “He, therefore, has been convicted as per clause 219—1, 2 and 3 (d)—of the Criminal Code Procedure.”

A person convicted under the clause can face a jail term between seven and 10 years. A hearing scheduled for January 10 will determine Lamichhane’s jail term, said Ramu Sharma, the district court registrar.

After much delay, the district court started continuous hearings on the case on Sunday. The verdict came 15 months after the case was lodged on September 6, 2022, when the victim filed a rape case against the cricketer.

The court, however, dismissed her claim that she was a minor at the time of the rape. The court has also refused to accept the birth dates mentioned in her academic documents, which show she was 17 at the time of the incident.

“After evaluating her birth registration at Raluka VDC, Nuwakot, migration registration at Shankarapur Municipality, Kathmandu, delivery register at Narayani Sub-regional Hospital, Birgunj and Gaushala-26’s statement, the court determines that she was born on July 4, 2004 and was 18 years old when the incident happened,” said Sharma.

Rights activists, who advocated justice for Gaushala-26, say they are not very happy with the decision. “I partially welcome the ruling. While I am happy that Lamichhane has been convicted, I am not satisfied with the ruling that she was an adult when raped,” Mohna Ansari, an advocate and former member of the National Human Rights Commission, told the Post. “But I also think this decision will help restore people’s dwindling trust in the judiciary.”

Gaushala-26’s lawyers say the academic credentials and other certificates prove that the victim had not attained the age of 18 when she was sexually assaulted. “The documents produced by the defence [Lamichhane’s] lawyers to prove that she was an adult are riddled with contradictions. We will have to wait for the full text of the ruling to know on what grounds the court determined her age,” senior advocate Sunita Regmi, who advocated on the victim’s behalf, told the Post.

Despite being convicted, Lamichhane will not be immediately arrested. He can appeal the district court’s decision at the high court and then, ultimately, at the Supreme Court, according to lawyers.

When the investigation started, Lamichhane was in the West Indies to play in the Caribbean Premier League. He was arrested from Tribhuvan International Airport upon arrival on October 6, 2022.

The Kathmandu District Court on November 4 last year had ordered that Lamichhane be sent to the Sundhara-based central jail after a detention hearing.

Lamichhane had moved the high court, challenging the order.

On January 12, a division bench of high court judges Dhruva Raj Nanda and Ramesh Dahal decided to release him on bail while the investigation continued. Following the verdict, Lamichhane was released from custody on January 13 after posting a bail of Rs2 million. The court, however, had barred him from travelling abroad and asked him to inform the police while leaving Kathmandu.

Dissatisfied with the travel restrictions, Lamichhane moved the Supreme Court, challenging the high court’s decision. On February 27, a division bench of justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Kumar Chudal ruled in favour of the petition filed by the cricketer, allowing him to travel abroad to play games.

The division bench had said, “It was found that the person [Lamichhane] has cooperated in the judicial process by returning to the country and he has satisfactorily abided by the court order by not defying various prohibitory orders issued by the Patan High Court. As the defendant is a star cricketer of national as well as international fame and he needs to participate in such games, the court now revokes the previous order to bar him from such visits.”

He, then, had been travelling to various countries to play games.