KATHMANDU, APRIL 2

Yubaraj Paudel 'Safal', whose legal suit resulted in the loss of Rastriya Swatantra Party Chair Rabi Lamichhane's membership of the House of Representatives and home portfolio in the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led Cabinet, filed a new writ petition at the Supreme Court seeking reversal of the Attorney General's decision not to file case against Lamichhane under the Passport Act.

Safal took the step after AG Dinmani Pokharel decided on March 20 not to file case against Lamichhane under the Passport Act. Safal had lodged an FIR against Lamichhane under the Passport Act.

The Supreme Court has, however, returned the writ petition telling Safal to meet some requirements in the documents, said SC Spokesperson Bimal Paudel.

Lamichhane stands accused that he obtained Nepali passport when he was a US citizen and thus violated Nepal's passport laws.

Lamichhane had obtained Nepali citizenship on 22 February 1994, became a US citizen on 5 March 2014, and renounced his American passport on 28 June 2018.

Stating that Lamichhane obtained Nepali passport on 27 May 2015, when he was an American citizen, Safal argued Lamichhane should be punished for obtaining Nepali passport by concealing the fact that he was an American citizen when he applied for Nepali passport. Safal argued that the AG's decision not to pursue passport case against Lamichhane was arbitrary, malicious and intended to give benefit to Lamichhane.

He urged the court to quash the AG's decision not to file case against Lamichhane and direct the OAG to file case against him under passport laws. Safal said that the OAG, which did not provide him information about Lamichhane's passport issues, had, however, stated that Lamichhane had only made a procedural mistake. Safal said the OAG had stated that Lamichhane had not used his Nepali passport (No 08834838) before renouncing his American passport but it would be clear if the court sought details from the Department of Immigration about Lamichhane's travel history.

Safal stated that he sought Lamichhane's travel history form DoI, but the latter told him that it had no authority to give Lamichhane's travel history to him, but it could share those details with the court. Safal said that Lamichhane's Facebook post showed that he had reached Abu Dhabi on 5 December 2017 when he was an American citizen and hence the court should enquire whether or not he used the Nepali passport.

Safal said OAG had stated that Lamichhane deliberately did not falsify any detail in his passport application and he had not acted with guilty mind. The petitioner argued that the OAG decision not to pursue the passport case against Lamichhane was deviation from its legal duty, which obstructed delivery of justice.

Safal argued that although Article 158 (2) of the constitution gave the OAG power not to pursue a criminal case, that decision must be based on rationale and power cannot be used arbitrarily.

Safal said that the OAG decided not to file case against Lamichhane the day the Lamichhane-led RSP decided to give vote of confidence to PM Dahal and on that day the RSP leaders had visited the OAG.

Stating that a criminal case can be withdrawn only when it is false, Safal said that he had lodged an FIR against Lamichhane seeking action against him under the Passport Act, and as per the penal code, the OAG must interact with him before withdrawing the case.

The petitioner also urged the court to order government authorities to clarify whether or not Lamichhane duly submitted evidence of his renouncement of American citizenship.

On January 27, the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court had invalidated Lamichhane's election to the HoR, ruling that since he did not meet legal procedures to get his Nepali citizenship restored, he was not qualified to contest parliamentary election, which he did from Chitwan Constituency No 2.

With the court's decision, Lamichhane lost not only his seat in the HoR, but also the posts of deputy prime minister and home minister.

The SC decision was a blow to the RSP, which had witnessed a meteoric rise within a few months of its formation, winning 20 seats in the 275-member HoR, riding on Lamichhane's popularity.

A version of this article appears in the print on April 3, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.