The Supreme Court on Monday ordered authorities to present the file for a cooperative fraud case filed at the Rupandehi District Court.

In response to a writ petition demanding the suspension of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, a division bench of Justices Manoj Kumar Sharma and Til Prasad Sharma sought the case file against Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai and others.

“Present the file on the case against GB Rai among others at Rupandehi District Court for the next hearing on June 18,” the court said in the order.

Rai, who was the chairman of the Gorkha Media Network, is accused of illegally transferring Rs300 million from Kaski-based Surya Darshan Cooperative, Rs110.71 million from Chitwan-based Sahara Cooperative, and Rs100.74 million from Supreme Cooperative in Butwal, without providing any collateral. Lamichhane, a former television host and managing director of a television channel co-founded by Rai, has been accused of embezzling hundreds of millions of rupees in collusion with Rai.

The court was responding to a writ petition filed by advocate Anupam Bhattarai, demanding the court scrap a letter from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to Minister Lamichhane. The OAG letter, issued on May 6, stated that Lamichhane has no cases related to cooperative fraud in Nepal’s courts.

In his petition, Bhattarai has also demanded that Lamichhane be suspended from his Cabinet positions for the duration of the investigation into cooperatives fraud to prevent him from influencing the probe.

On June 2, the apex court had issued a show cause to Home Minister Lamichhane and Attorney General Dinmani Pokharel. The court also ordered to present a complaint lodged against Lamichhane in the District Police Office, Kaski.