Error in Supreme Court’s Document in Rabi’s Case: What’s difference between ‘Verdict’ and ‘Order’?

Kathmandu: After the High Court ordered Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairperson Rabi Lamichhane to be sent to jail until the final decision in the cooperative fraud case, he approached the Supreme Court.

Rabi filed a case at the Supreme Court on Chaitra 29, 2081 BS (April 11, 2025) against the decision of the High Court, Tulsipur, Butwal bench to send him to jail. On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s order.

A joint bench of Justices Nahakul Subedi and Bal Krishna Dhakal ordered that Rabi be sent to jail. However, in the Supreme Court document, the term ‘order’ (आदेश) was mistakenly written as ‘verdict’ (फैसला). This error was corrected today, Sunday, by the same bench.

‘When typing, it should have been written as ‘order’, but ‘verdict’ was written instead. Today’s hearing was scheduled to correct this error,’ said Supreme Court spokesperson Niranjan Pandey.

According to Pandey, the bench of Subedi and Dhakal met only to correct this clerical error.

So, what exactly is the difference between ‘order’ and ‘verdict’, and why does it have to be corrected by the bench itself?

What is an ‘Order’?

An order by the court is a temporary directive given in special circumstances or as needed before the final verdict of a case is issued. It takes immediate effect and remains in place until the case is resolved.

For example, the decision of the High Court to send Lamichhane to jail is an ‘order’—it will remain in effect until the final decision of the case.

Essentially, an order is a temporary directive given during a case or in special circumstances, telling parties what to do or not to do. It takes effect immediately and must be followed.

In Rabi’s context, the ‘order’ means the decision that he should remain in custody at the Rupandehi District Court until the case concludes.

What is a ‘Verdict’?

A verdict is the final decision of the court after considering evidence, hearings, and legal arguments. It represents the conclusion of a case. However, after a district court’s verdict, there remains an option to appeal to the High Court, and then to the Supreme Court.

Interestingly, even the Supreme Court’s verdict can be challenged at the Supreme Court itself through certain legal remedies.

A verdict is the final judgment in a case, based on evidence and the law. Once a verdict is issued, the case is considered legally concluded, unless an appeal is filed within the designated time. If there’s no appeal, the verdict becomes final.

For example, in Rabi Lamichhane’s case, the decision of the Rupandehi District Court after the full hearing would be considered the verdict. So far, only orders have been issued by the district, high, and supreme courts in Rabi’s case, not a final verdict.

What Happened When?

In the cooperative fraud case, the Rupandehi District Court had initially issued an order on Magh 13, 2081 BS (January 28, 2025) to release Lamichhane on a bail of one crore rupees during the preliminary hearing of the case.

However, Rabi challenged the one crore bail as excessive and filed a petition at the High Court, Tulsipur Butwal bench. Similarly, the government side also approached the High Court, demanding that he be sent to jail.

On Chaitra 22, 2081 BS (April 4, 2025), the High Court Tulsipur Butwal bench ordered that Lamichhane be kept in jail until the final decision of the case. On Jestha 11, 2082 BS (May 25, 2025), the Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s order to keep Rabi in custody.

Nepali version of the news story