The House of Representatives Regulations Drafting Committee, which submitted its report to Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal on Monday, appears to have been framed with the intention of safeguarding the parliamentary position of Rastriya Swatantra Party chair Rabi Lamichhane.

Rule 259 of the draft regulations, unanimously prepared by a committee led by RSP lawmaker Ganesh Parajuli, states: “Notwithstanding anything written in prevailing laws, these rules shall, in matters concerning the House, its committees, and its members, function as federal law and carry the force of a special law.”

In the previous House, Lamichhane was suspended by then-Speaker Devraj Ghimire after he was charged in connection with a cooperative fraud case, along with allegations of money laundering. Following his release on bail, Lamichhane had requested the Speaker to allow him to attend parliamentary meetings.

The House regulations at the time did not prohibit a lawmaker from participating in meetings if they were not in custody. However, Speaker Ghimire argued that since Lamichhane had been suspended under provisions of the anti-money laundering Act, he could not override that law through his own decision.

At the time, the RSP had insisted that the House rules should apply in matters concerning members of Parliament. That demand—seen as favourable to Lamichhane—has now been incorporated into the new draft rules.

The Lamichhane-led party is currently in power, having secured nearly a two-thirds majority in the March 5 House elections. RSP leader Aryal serves as the Speaker, though he has formally resigned his party membership.

The newly formed Parliament constituted a committee, coordinated by RSP leader Parajuli, to draft a new set of regulations, in line with the provision that requires each new House to formulate its own rules.

The regulations, unanimously endorsed by the Parajuli-led committee, have the rules that place lawmakers above ordinary law.

However, Ekram Giri, spokesperson for the Federal Parliament Secretariat, says the provision falls under Article 104 of the constitution.

“Each House of the Federal Parliament shall frame rules to conduct its business, maintain order during the meetings, and regulate the constitution, functions, and procedures of the committees and procedures of the House or its committee. Until such rules are framed, the Federal Parliament shall regulate its procedures on its own,” reads the article of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, spokesperson Giri notes that the previous regulations provided that, in the absence of uniformity between federal law and parliamentary rules in matters of legal interpretation, the Speaker’s interpretation would be final and could not be challenged in court. The current regulations, Giri says, seek to clearly specify which law will prevail in such circumstances.

The draft, yet to be endorsed, clearly states that the tenure and privileges of lawmakers, irrespective of their presence in the House, cannot be curtailed by other laws.

The draft regulations, submitted to the Speaker, will be tabled at the first meeting of the budget session of Parliament. Following a general discussion, the amendment process will begin. After further deliberation on the amended version, the draft will be put to a decision. Giri notes that the regulations will come into force once they are formally adopted in this manner.

Niskal Rai, a lawmaker from the main opposition Nepali Congress and member of the regulation drafting committee, says he and his party have serious reservations over Rule 259 and its provision.

“I signed the document only after it was submitted to the Speaker,” Rai said. “The draft was indeed passed unanimously since the RSP holds a majority, and we had little say.”

Senior advocate Radheshyam Adhikari says that under the previous regulations, Members of Parliament could not be arrested in civil cases, whereas they could be arrested in criminal cases, with a requirement to inform the Parliamentary Secretariat of any such arrest.

The House Regulations set out the procedures and processes for running the lower house, including provisions on the privileges of Members of Parliament, Adhikari says.

“Even so, such regulations cannot be framed in a way that overturns federal law,” Adhikari adds. “A federal statute comes into force only after it has been passed by both houses and authenticated by the President, whereas the House regulations are adopted by a single chamber. Therefore, they do not override the federal law.”

Meanwhile, when the new regulations were presented to the Speaker on Monday, a petition at the Supreme Court seeking the suspension of Lamichhane from his position as lawmaker was denied registration.

The writ petition was submitted on Monday by Ayush Badal, a law student, to the court administration. In his petition, Badal had argued that Lamichhane should be barred from carrying out his parliamentary duties until the cases filed against him, relating to cooperatives fraud, organised crime, and money laundering, are fully resolved.

Lamichhane faces charges related to cooperatives fraud in five district courts. He previously spent a prolonged time in custody in connection with the same case and is currently out on bail.