The Rupandehi District Court on Sunday granted bail to Rastriya Swatantra Party chief Rabi Lamichhane, accused of misappropriating funds from the Supreme Credit and Savings Cooperative, on a bail of Rs10 million. The bench of Judge Prahlad Kumar Yogi announced bail after a days-long detention hearing.

Government prosecutors argued for Lamichhane’s judicial detention, citing concerns that after the release former home minister Lamichhane may interfere with the justice process. However, Lamichhane’s legal team countered these claims, alleging political retaliation against him.

The allegations against Lamichhane stem from irregularities in cooperative funds, including payments made via cheques signed by Lamichhane, questionable ownership transfers and financial disclosures. The District Attorney’s Office presented this evidence in the chargesheet, which implicated Lamichhane in defrauding depositors.

This ruling comes after Lamichhane was previously granted bail in separate cooperative fraud cases. The Kaski District Court had ordered his release on Rs6.5 million bail in the Pokhara-based Suryadarshan Cooperative, while the Kathmandu District Court granted him bail on Rs6 million in the Kalimati-based Swarnalakshmi Cooperative case.

The case in Rupandehi is based on an investigation by the Butwal Area Police Office, which identified Lamichhane’s involvement in financial irregularities linked to the cooperative. Prosecutors claim Lamichhane’s acts helped embezzlement of millions of rupees saved by depositors.

Lamichhane, who denies the charges, has faced similar allegations Chitwan and Parsa as well.

He is accused of illegally diverting millions of rupees from cooperatives in the five districts to the Gorkha Media Network that operated now-defunct Galaxy 4K TV, where he was managing director before he joined politics in June 2022.