Both the prosecutor and the defendant have filed appeals with the high court against separate orders issued by the Rupandehi District Court in the Supreme Cooperative fraud case.

The prosecutor representing the District Government Attorney’s Office Rupandehi has appealed for the continued detention of former Gorkha Media Network Managing Director Rabi Lamichhane, who is also a former home minister.

The office argues that the evidence available substantiates the charges and that Lamichhane should not be granted bail. The District Court released Lamichhane on a bail of Rs10 million on January 26 on the condition that he appear on the scheduled dates.

On the other hand, former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and ex-director of Gorkha Media Network, Chhabilal Joshi, has filed a petition with the Tulsipur High Court, challenging the district court’s decision to send him to judicial custody in the same cooperative fraud case.

Judge Yogi had ordered Lamichhane to be released on bail, stating, “Given that there is no reasonable basis to believe the defendant did not commit the alleged crime based on the immediately available evidence, the matter will be further examined during the trial.” The District Government Attorney’s Office has appealed to the High Court, seeking to overturn this order.

The judge ordered Lamichhane to post bail and appear for future hearings. However, the District Government Attorney’s Office disagrees with this decision. It argues that Lamichhane should remain in custody due to the seriousness of the charges and the evidence against him. District Attorney Prem Raj Paudel said, “The evidence clearly shows Lamichhane’s involvement in the crime. He should not be granted bail.”

Meanwhile, in Joshi’s case, Judge Basista Kumar Ghimire of the Rupandehi District Court ordered him to be sent to judicial custody. The judge cited Joshi’s involvement in the fraud and his attempts to blame others, including GB (Gitendra Babu) Rai, for the financial irregularities. Joshi, allegedly involved in other fraud cases, including the Gorkha Media Network fraud, claims that the order was biased and has filed an appeal to reverse the decision. Joshi’s son, Rojak Joshi, said, “The order was prejudiced, and we request the High Court to overturn it.”

Ram Bahadur Kunwar, the information officer at the High Court, Tulsipur Butwal bench, also said that a petition has been filed regarding the order issued by the Rupandehi District Court to send the defendant to custody.

The fraud case involves accusations of embezzlement by both Lamichhane and Joshi, with claims of Rs20 million transferred to Lamichhane’s personal account and Rs25 million transferred to Joshi’s. An audit report has revealed that a sum of Rs109.936 million was deposited into various accounts of Gorkha Media Network. The statement given by Lamichhane, claiming that Joshi had raised capital ranging from Rs5 million to Rs12 million for the media company, was also used by the District Judge as a basis. The chargesheet mentions the joint liability of Lamichhane, Joshi, and Rai for the Rs109.936 million channelled into Gorkha Media Network.

Lamichhane has been released on bail, while Joshi remains in custody for further investigation.

Joshi had previously been released on bail of Rs8.8 million in a case involving the Suryadarshan Cooperative in Pokhara and Rs5 million in a fraud case related to the Swarnalakshmi Cooperative in Kathmandu. Additionally, a case has been registered against him in the Sahara Cooperative fraud case. Lamichhane, on the other hand, was released on bail in several cases: Rs6.5 million in the Kaski-based Suryadarshan Cooperative case, Rs6 million in the Swarnalakshmi case in Kathmandu, Rs10 million in the Supreme Cooperative case, and Rs5.4 million in the Sahara Cooperative case in Chitwan.

The Supreme Cooperative case, which involved 28 defendants, including GB Rai, was registered in April last year with a claim of Rs860 million in damages. Among the 28, 17 individuals now face additional charges.