The hearing in the cooperative fraud case involving judicial detainees Rabi Lamichhane and Chhabilal Joshi was postponed again on Thursday. The session at the Tulsipur–Butwal bench of the High Court could not proceed after Lamichhane’s lawyer, Mahendra Pandey, requested a delay due to health issues, court information officer Ram Bahadur Kunwar confirmed.
Liability Dispute and Background of the Case
The case is related to alleged embezzlement at the Supreme Cooperative in Butwal, where four individuals have been collectively charged with misappropriating more than Rs 109.9 million. Lamichhane argues that he should be released after submitting a bank guarantee worth Rs 27.4 million, equivalent to the liability attributed to him.
The Rupandehi District Court earlier rejected his request, saying the exact distribution of liability had not been clearly determined. Lamichhane then filed a review petition at the High Court on Bhadra 9. Joshi has also submitted a petition seeking release after depositing the amount corresponding to his share. Both petitions are being heard under the same docket.
Repeated Postponements Slow Judicial Progress
According to Kunwar, Lamichhane’s legal team has requested postponement twice, while Joshi’s side has requested it once. Court rules allow each party to request up to two postponements.
Earlier hearings on Kartik 13, Kartik 20, and Kartik 27 included orders to obtain original case files from the District Court and the Supreme Court. Although the documents were received, the last two hearings were again postponed, preventing further progress.
Separate Prisons, Joint Proceedings
Lamichhane is currently held at Nakkhu Prison, while Joshi is detained in Bhairahawa Prison. Despite being housed in separate facilities, their petitions continue to be heard together under the same High Court docket.
