Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chair Rabi Lamichhane walked out of judicial custody on Friday evening after completing the necessary paperwork at the Rupandehi District Court.

Lamichhane travelled from Kathmandu to Chitwan on air and then proceeded by road to Rupandehi after bad weather prevented flights from landing at Bhairahawa’s Gautam Buddha International Airport. He reached the district court at 5:37 pm, court officials said.

Officials at the district court waited for him even after office hours.

His release follows Thursday’s order of the Tulsipur High Court’s Butwal bench, which granted bail and directed the lower court to process his discharge once the required documents were available.

Padam Aryal, information officer at the district court, said his team had kept the identification documents ready in advance under the supervision of Lamichhane’s legal representatives.

“The preparations helped us complete the process quickly once he appeared in court,” Aryal said.

Lamichhane is now out of custody pending further proceedings in the cooperative fraud case.

Lamichhane, a former television presenter-turned-politician and the founding chief of the RSP, was in judicial custody on the charge of misappropriation of funds belonging to the Butwal-based Supreme Cooperative.

He faces similar charges in other cooperatives based in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and Parsa as well.

After being released from detention, he briefly addressed his supporters gathered outside the district court.

Lamichhane told them that his fight will continue. “There is still a fight left for your justice and for the justice of this country,” he said.

He argued that compared to the injustice committed against the country and the people by previous governments and leaders, the injustice done to him is nothing.

“They must be held to account,” he said. “After settling that account, we will talk at length.”

He entered the district court in a police vehicle and exited in a private vehicle.