With the arrest of RSVP Chairman Ravi Lamichhane, the question of what will happen to his position as MP has been raised. Lamichhane is an elected Member of Parliament from Constituency No. 2 in Chitwan. He was arrested by the police on Friday for investigation in a case related to cooperative fraud and organized crime.

As the police detained him for investigation, there is no immediate problem with his position as MP. However, after filing charges by the police, it will depend on the decision of the court whether he will remain in office or not. If he is convicted of organized crime, his political future will be in jeopardy. 

The House of Representatives Election Act states that a person who has been sentenced to imprisonment for an offense related to organized crime is ineligible to be a candidate for a member of the House of Representatives for a period of six years from the date of serving such sentence. Section 13 of the Act mentions the issues of disqualification of candidates for the House of Representatives. Section 13 (e) states that a person convicted of an offense related to organized crime is ineligible to be a candidate. 

In the immediate case, Lamichhane will not be suspended as an MP just because he was arrested by the police for investigation. The rules of the House of Representatives provide that the post of MP will be suspended for the entire period of imprisonment only in cases where the court has sent him to pre-trial detention. 

According to Federal Parliament Secretariat Spokesperson Joint Secretary Ekram Giri, since the parliament is not running now, the information about the arrest of MPs will be posted on the secretariat's notice board. The police said that the information about Lamichhane's arrest has been sent to the Parliament Secretariat. However, Giri said that the information was not received by the Parliament or the Speaker's private secretariat until Friday night.  According to

spokesperson Giri, in the event that any member of Parliament is arrested, his position will be suspended or not, as per Rule 248 of the Rules of the House of Representatives. The parliamentarians have made the issue of suspension of office safer than in the past in the rules of the House of Representatives that they have made for themselves.

Rule 248(3) of the House of Representatives Rules 2079 provides that the position of MP will be suspended only if the court sends him to prison for preliminary investigation in a case where the accused is sentenced to imprisonment for three years or more. It is stated in the regulations - "According to the prevailing law, if an indictment has been filed in a criminal case with a sentence of imprisonment of three years or more or moral turpitude, and he is in custody for the preliminary investigation, he will remain suspended for that period." 

If the police, after the investigation, registers a case with charges of organized crime along with cooperative fraud, according to the subject law, it seems that Lamichhane will be sentenced to more than 3 years in prison. In that situation, if the district court sends him to prison for preliminary incarceration, his position will be suspended for the entire period of his imprisonment. According to the provisions of the regulation, the post of UML MP Top Bahadur Rayamazhi, who has been detained pending trial in the case of fake Bhutanese refugees, has been suspended. 

Former Secretary of Parliament Som Bahadur Thapa Lamichhane says that the issue of position is connected with how the charges are presented and what kind of order comes from the court. How does research grow? What order comes from the court. According to that, moral values, personal conduct, and behavior also come into play," he said. 

The existing laws regarding elections and political parties do not speak about not remaining in the leadership of a political party even in the case of being charged or found guilty by the court. In that situation, the person himself and his party seem to be more responsible. An election commissioner said that the law does not say anything about whether or not a person who has been convicted will remain in the leadership of the party in the event of a court case. 

'It depends on the morality of the concerned person, the party's constitution and the party's decision,' he said He says that if such a situation arises, Lamichhane will automatically be released from the current position of MP.

There is hope for the court: Lamichhane 

The RSVP has said that it will announce its formal opinion after the arrest of the party chairman. Before his arrest, Lamichhane said through Facebook 'status' and video messages that he was ready to help the police to investigate the allegations against him. He mentioned that there is hope towards the court and trust towards the people. He has also accused the state of trying to trap him to save someone's politics and protect the government.