The Supreme Court is currently hearing a case regarding alleged passport misuse by Rabi Lamichhane, chairperson of the Rastriya Swatantra Party.
The hearing was scheduled before a two-judge bench of Kumar Regmi and Meghraj Pokharel after lawyer Yubaraj Paudel (Safal) filed a writ petition two years ago seeking to prosecute Lamichhane for passport-related offenses. Paudel argued that the Attorney General’s decision not to pursue a case against Lamichhane was illegal.
Previously, the Supreme Court had ordered the file to be produced three times. On Chaitra 22, 2079 BS, it issued a show-cause order, followed by a file production order on Jestha 9, 2080 BS. The court requested the Attorney General’s office to explain why no case was filed against Lamichhane, and after receiving the response, the double hearing is now underway.
The then-Attorney General Dinamani Pokharel had decided on Chaitra 6, 2079 BS, not to proceed with a case against Lamichhane regarding the passport dispute. Paudel challenged this decision in the Supreme Court, also seeking an interim order to initiate proceedings, which the court rejected.
Paudel claims that since there is no dispute over the fact that claiming Nepali citizenship and obtaining a passport while being a U.S. citizen violates Section 5(b) of the Passport Act, 2024 BS, the Attorney General’s decision not to file a case was prejudiced. He further argued that the AG overstepped their jurisdiction by concluding that Lamichhane had no criminal intent.
Paudel has requested that the Immigration Department provide detailed records showing when and for what purposes Lamichhane used or allegedly misused the passport.
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