A writ petition has been presented at the Supreme Court, challenging the Office of the Attorney General’s decision to amend charge-sheets against Rastriya Swatantra Party chair Rabi Lamichhane, a move that led to the dropping of organised crime and money laundering charges against him.

Yubaraj Paudel filed the petition, naming the Office of the Attorney General, several district government attorney offices and Lamichhane as defendants. The Supreme Court said it is studying whether the petition qualifies for registration.

Paudel has sought a writ of certiorari to nullify the decision taken by the Attorney General’s Office on January 14 and all related correspondence. He has also demanded a mandamus order to ensure that the cooperative fraud, organised crime and money laundering cases against Lamichhane are not weakened and that there is no obstruction to the legal process.

The petitioner argued that Section 36 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2017 allows amendment of charge-sheets only when new evidence emerges. He claimed that no such new evidence existed and that the decision was taken arbitrarily with the intent of granting Lamichhane immunity.

Earlier, the Office of the Attorney General approved the amendment of charge-sheets in cases filed against Lamichhane at district courts in Kaski, Rupandehi, Kathmandu and Parsa. Through the amendment, organised crime and money laundering charges were dropped, while the cooperative fraud case was left unchanged.

Attorney General Sabita Bhandari approved the amendments on Wednesday, invoking Section 36 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which permits revision of charges with the attorney general’s approval when new or stronger evidence emerges while a case is under trial. The office said no amendment was required in Chitwan as no such cases were pending there.

Lamichhane had applied to the Attorney General’s Office in September while he was in judicial custody at Nakkhu Prison, arguing that amendment of the cases would help secure his release on bail.

On December 18, 2025, the Butwal bench of the Tulsipur High Court ordered Lamichhane’s release on bail in a cooperative fraud case after directing him to deposit bail equivalent to the alleged loss.