Kathmandu, May 24 -- Nepal's Supreme Court on Friday upheld the verdict of judicial custody for former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in an alleged cooperative fraud and organised crime case.

After hours of deliberation and debate from both sides, the top court upheld the Tulsipur High Court's decision to send Lamichhane to jail. Along with this, the supreme judicial body of the Himalayan Nation also upheld the decision to send former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and ex-director of Gorkha Media Network, Chhabilal Joshi, to judicial custody.

The bench of justices Nahakul Subedi and Balkrishna Dhakal quashed the habeas corpus petition filed by Lamichhane's wife, Nikita Paudel, demanding his release.

"Based on the immediately available e...