The Kaski District Court has ordered the release of Rabi Lamichhane, chair of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and former home minister, on bail of Rs6.5 million.

This follows a detention hearing concerning allegations of misappropriating Rs1.51 billion from the Pokhara-based Suryadarshan Savings and Credit Cooperative.

The hearing, conducted by a single bench led by Judge Nitij Rai, concluded after the District Attorney’s Office, represented by Assistant District Attorney Govindraj Gauli and District Attorney Kamala Kafle, presented their arguments.

The district attorney had argued that Lamichhane should be sent to judicial custody until the final verdict on the case as he has the chance of influencing the case while remaining outside.

Defence lawyers, including Lamichhane’s legal team, however, pleaded for his release on general bail, citing his willingness to cooperate with the investigation and support the cooperative’s victims from outside custody.

Meanwhile, the court also ordered the release of former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Chhabilal Joshi on bail of Rs8.8 million in the same case.

Lamichhane and his co-accused are charged with cooperative fraud, organised crime, and money laundering. The District Government Attorney’s Office had filed cases against 63 individuals on December 22, seeking judicial custody for seven suspects due to the severity of the charges. Victims’ legal representatives supported the demand for custody, while the defence argued for leniency.

Additional case in Kathmandu

Though the Kaski court ordered their release on bail, they have been facing a similar case in Kathmandu.

The Kathmandu District Court is handling another case against Lamichhane and 38 others, alleging the embezzlement of Rs1.199 billion from the Swarnalaxmi Multipurpose Cooperative. The District Government Attorney’s Office, based on police investigations, registered this case on January 5.

The Kathmandu District Court on November 17 issued arrest warrants against Lamichhane and Joshi on charges of embezzling deposits from the Swarnalaxmi Multipurpose Cooperative.

The accused include former board members of Gorkha Media Pvt Ltd and officials of the Swarnalaxmi Cooperative, such as former vice chair Chhabilal Joshi, chair Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai, vice chair Devendra Babu Rai, treasurer Kumar Ramtel, and secretary Iran Lama. They are accused of systematically mismanaging and diverting cooperative funds.

Lamichhane was apprehended by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) on 18 October from the RSP’s central office in Banasthali, Kathmandu, and transported to Pokhara for investigation. Previous probes, including one by a special parliamentary committee, alleged that he diverted funds from multiple cooperatives, including Rs30 million from Gorkha Media Network, into personal accounts.