A hearing has been scheduled in the Supreme Court regarding a writ petition challenging Attorney General Savita Bhandari’s decision to amend the charges against Ravi Lamichhane, chairperson of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, related to “asset laundering” and “organized crime.”
The case will be heard by a bench of Justices Manojkumar Sharma and Shrikant Paudel. Earlier, a single bench of Justice Abdul Aziz Musalman had requested a written response from the Attorney General’s office on Tuesday. Following the submission of the response, the Supreme Court has scheduled the hearing.
The writ, filed by senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi, law students Ayush Badal and Yubaraj Paudel Safal, seeks the annulment of the Attorney General’s decision, claiming it is “prima facie illegal, malicious, and arbitrary.”
On Poush 30, 2082 BS, Attorney General Savita Bhandari had ordered amendments to the charges filed against Lamichhane in the district courts of Kaski, Kathmandu, Rupandehi, and Parsa, ruling that claims related to “organized crime” and “asset laundering” would no longer be maintained.
The petitioners argue that the decision was politically motivated, prioritized the interests of depositors selectively, and effectively amounts to a case dismissal under the guise of Section 36 of the Criminal Procedure Code. They further claim that Section 116 prohibits the withdrawal of asset laundering cases, making the Attorney General’s decision a “fraudulent application of law.”
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