KATHMANDU: On Friday, the Supreme Court (SC) is set to convene for a hearing on a writ petition seeking the suspension of Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane. The case will be heard by a joint bench of Judges Sapna Pradhan Malla and Sharanga Subedi. The hearing slated for Tuesday, which was supposed to be held by a two-member bench comprising Judges Binod Sharma and Manoj Kumar Sharma, was scrapped since Judge Manoj Kumar Sharma had already traveled in this very case before his appointment to the Supreme Court.

Earlier, justices Manoj Kumar Sharma and Til Prasad Shrestha ordered that the charge sheet filed in the Rupandehi District Court pertaining to the petition seeking Lamichhane's suspension be summoned. The case was taken up by the justices in response to an earlier directive that the ambiguity over the cooperative fraud allegations against GB Rai needed clarification.

Advocate Anupama Bhattarai had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court along with the charge sheet of inclusion of Lamichhane and details of loans attributed to him. The petition has also challenged a letter from the Attorney General's Office claiming that no case of cooperative fraud has been lodged against Lamichhane.

Bhattarai has prayed that the continuance of Lamichhane as Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister would influence the fair investigation in the present scenario, contrary to the principles of natural justice. Hence, there is a prayer for an interim order to suspend him from the ministerial post pending further investigation. The writ has named the Attorney General's Office, Attorney General Dinmani Pokharel, and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane himself among the respondents to ensure transparency and impartiality in the legal process.