The hearing on a writ petition challenging the amendment of a charge sheet against Rabi Lamichhane, Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, has been postponed. The hearing, scheduled for today, was deferred following a request by the government attorney.

 

The petition concerns cases pending in various district courts involving allegations of cooperative fraud, organised crime, and money laundering. The matter was earlier referred to a full bench by a joint bench of Supreme Court Justices Vinod Sharma and Abdul Aziz Muslim on the 29th of March this year, citing the need for serious constitutional and legal interpretation.

 

The joint bench observed a possible misinterpretation of the term “additional evidence” and recommended a full bench hearing. As per Section 36 of the Civil Criminal Procedure Code, a charge sheet can be amended only if new evidence emerges. However, the defence has questioned whether a petition filed by the accused or a self-declaration can qualify as “additional evidence”.

 

The case will now be taken up by the full bench on a later date.