KATHMANDU: The Nepal Bar Association (NBA) has said that the government’s decision to withdraw a case relating to organized crime and money laundering against Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane is inappropriate.

Issuing a press statement today, NBA General Secretary Kedar Prasad Koirala said the Association strongly objected to the decision, stating that it promotes impunity through the politicization of offences and the criminalization of politics, thereby undermining the spirit of criminal justice. The NBA has demanded a guarantee of the rule of law and called on the government to immediately revoke its decision.

Through the statement, the NBA said it has consistently advocated for an impartial, fair and transparent criminal justice system. The decision to withdraw the case contradicts existing legal provisions and sets a negative precedent regarding case retraction, he added.

Such selective decisions, the statement argued, undermine the jurisdiction of courts and badly dent the concept of an independent judiciary. It further warned that the move could seriously jeopardise the criminal justice system, violate the rule of law, and lead to an excessive concentration of power in the executive.

The Office of the Attorney General decided to withdraw the case against Lamichhane on January 14.