The Supreme Court has concluded that Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane is not a Nepali citizen. Issuing a verdict today, the Constitutional bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki, Justices Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha, Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada, Dr Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Anil Kumar Sinha said that Lamichhane cannot be called a Nepali as he does not have a Nepali citizenship. With the verdict of the apex court, Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairman Lamichhane has lost both his ministerial and parliamentary positions.

A Constitutional bench under the headship of Acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki was formed to hear the case.

Earlier, the court had sought relevant documents Lamichhane had submitted to the Department of Immigration, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the District Administration Office. Advocates Rabiraj Basaula, Yubaraj Poudel and others had filed a writ petition at the apex court raising questions over the eligibility of Deputy Prime Minister Lamichhane. The writ petitioners had demanded Lamichhane be removed from the post of lawmaker arguing that he opened a political party and became a member of the House of Representatives without acquiring the Nepali citizenship.