The Supreme Court had scheduled a hearing today on a passport misuse case filed against Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairperson Rabi Lamichhane, but the hearing has been postponed.
The writ petition was filed two years ago by Yuvraj Poudel (Safal), demanding that Lamichhane be prosecuted on charges related to passport misuse. The hearing was scheduled to take place today. In his petition, Poudel challenged the decision of the Office of the Attorney General not to pursue legal action against Lamichhane, arguing that the decision was against the law.
On Chaitra 6, 2079 BS, the Office of the Attorney General decided not to file a case against Lamichhane. Prior to that, both the police and the government attorney’s office had also concluded that no case should be filed against him in connection with the passport issue.
The petitioner has argued that Lamichhane obtained a Nepali passport by declaring himself a Nepali citizen and filling out a passport application form while he was still an American citizen. This act, he claims, clearly constitutes an offense under Section 5(b) of the Passport Act, 2024. Despite there being no dispute over this legal provision, the decision by the Attorney General not to prosecute Lamichhane is alleged to be biased and unjustified.
About the Author
