The next blow came this year when the lower court, asked to determine if Sobhraj had come to Nepal in 1975 using a forged passport, found him guilty despite his protestations that he had never visited the Himalayan nation before.

Now the man, who has inspired numerous books and documentaries, is bracing for a new legal battle as his lawyers have sought to appeal against the forged passport verdict.

However, it's going to be a long and uphill battle. Though the appeal was registered last month, the apex court is yet to fix a date for the hearings.

First, it was busy readying for the visit of Russia's chief justice. Then in September, the courts will shut down for almost a month as Nepal celebrates its biggest religious festival Dashain.

It is therefore unlikely that fresh dates will be fixed before October. Even then, Sobhraj will find himself in a queue and his case might not come up for hearing immediately.

Also, with the lower court ruling that it considers Sobhraj to have visited the country in 1975, the Supreme Court, which has been sitting on the murder appeal, now has a way out.

Now the Supreme Court can uphold the murder conviction on the ground that the lower court has established Sobhraj was in Nepal in 1975 and therefore had the opportunity as well as motive to kill American tourist Connie Jo Bronzich.

Even if the judges now proclaim Sobhraj innocent and set him free, that too would be a lengthy process. Given the way prosecution lawyers have been dawdling over Sobhraj's cases, seeking the maximum delay possible, the trial is not likely to be concluded before 2010 at the earliest.