KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on a writ petition challenging the withdrawal of organized crime and money laundering charges filed against Rabi Lamichhane, chair of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party.

The case will be heard by a joint bench of Justices Sapana Malla Pradhan and Shrikant Paudel. The petition was filed by advocates Dinesh Tripathi and Yuvraj Safal, among others, seeking to annul a decision by the Office of the Attorney General.

In a seven-page note and order endorsed on January 14 by Attorney General Sabita Bhandari, district government attorney offices were directed to prosecute Lamichhane only on charges of cooperative fraud while dropping the organized crime and money laundering charges.

Following the directive, applications were filed in the Kaski District Court and Rupandehi District Court to amend the charge sheet. However, hearings have not proceeded as the matter is under consideration in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, government attorney offices in Kathmandu and Parsa District have yet to submit applications to their respective district courts to revise the charge sheet despite the directive from the Attorney General’s Office.