SC Orders Disclosure of Complaint Against Home Minister in Cooperative Savings Fraud Case

The Supreme Court has called for the complaint registered against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane at the District Police Office, Kaski, as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of cooperative savings fraud.

This order follows a writ petition filed by advocate Anupam Bhattarai against Home Minister Lamichhane and Attorney General Dinmani Pokharel. On Sunday, a bench led by Justice Til Prasad Shrestha instructed the defendants to appear in court on June 10, bringing an attested copy of the complaint lodged with Kaski Police.

The court will decide whether to issue an interim order after hearing from both parties on the scheduled date. The bench emphasized the need to examine both the complaint filed at Kaski Police and a letter from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) dated May 6, which claimed there were no complaints or investigations against Lamichhane related to cooperative funds misappropriation.

The OAG’s letter asserted that inquiries conducted in Rupandehi, Kaski, and Chitwan districts revealed no such complaints against the Home Minister. This statement is now under scrutiny following Bhattarai’s petition, which challenges the validity of the OAG’s findings.

Initially, Bhattarai’s petition faced a setback when the Supreme Court’s chief registrar refused to register it. However, Bhattarai persisted and filed another petition against the refusal. On May 22, Justice Tek Prasad Dhungana ordered the registration of Bhattarai’s petition, leading to the current proceedings.

The court’s forthcoming session on June 10 will be crucial in determining the next steps in this high-profile case, as it weighs the evidence and arguments presented by both sides.