The Supreme Court on Sunday decided to refer writ petitions challenging the revision of cases against Rastriya Swatantra Party chair Rabi Lamichhane to a full bench for hearing.

A division bench of Justices Binod Sharma and Abdul Aziz Musalman issued the order following a preliminary hearing, directing that the petitions be placed before a three-member bench, according to the court administration.

The petitions challenge a decision by the Office of the Attorney General to amend charge-sheets filed against Lamichhane in multiple district courts, which led to the dropping of organised crime and money laundering charges while retaining the cooperative fraud case.

Former attorney general Sabita Bhandari had approved the amendments under Section 36 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows revision of charges if new or stronger evidence emerges during trial. The decision followed Lamichhane’s application while he was in judicial custody, arguing that revising the cases would facilitate his release on bail.

Petitioners, including Yuvraj Paudel, senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi and advocate Abhash Regmi, argued in their petitions that the attorney general's decision was arbitrary and taken without the emergence of new evidence. They have sought a writ of certiorari to nullify the decision and a mandamus order to ensure that the charges are not weakened.

The apex court refers cases from a division bench to a full bench when there is a difference of opinion between judges or when the matter involves complex legal questions requiring authoritative interpretation.