KATHMANDU:-  Kathmandu District Court has allowed the withdrawal of the organized crime case against Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane. The bench of Judge Atmadev Joshi today ordered the withdrawal of the organized crime case against President Lamichhane.

The order states, “This amendment order has been made pursuant to Section 36 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 2074 BS, in order to maintain the charge of fraud in the charge sheet of the case of organized fraud related to the application submitted as per the petition demand and not to maintain the charge of organized crime.”

The order states that Clause (a) of Sub-section (2) of Section 116 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 2074 BS does not prohibit the law from withdrawing or amending the indictment in cases other than certain cases, including money laundering.

The order states, “In the context of the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Crime Victims Protection Act accepting the concept of victim-oriented justice, the court must also fulfill its guardianship responsibility to ensure a balance between criminal jurisprudence, the autonomy of the prosecution, the rights of the victim, and the public interest in situations where lengthy criminal proceedings, harsh charges, and obstacles to settlement are obstacles to justice including compensation for the victim.”

The District Government Attorney’s Office, Kathmandu, had filed a petition to amend the charge sheet in the case related to cooperative fraud and organized crime. Earlier, the Kaski and Parsa courts had allowed the withdrawal of the organized crime case against President Lamichhane.