Kathmandu, February 7:

Responding to two habeas corpus petitions, the Supreme Court today ordered the government authorities, including the Home Ministry, to produce 15 detainees in person at the apex court on February 13.

Two separate single benches of justices Rajendra Kumar Bhandari and Paramananda Jha issued the orders.

Following today’s hearing, the court ordered the Home Ministry, District Administration Offices and District Police Offices of all three districts of the Kathmandu Valley to produce the detainees before the court on February 13 to decide their detention.

The bench also ordered the authorities to produce Khim Lal Bhattarai and other student leaders Badri Pandey, Guna Raj Acharya, Yagya Raj Panta, Mahendra Sharma, Guru Raj Ghimire and Ram Kumari Jhakri before the court.

Bhattarai is the chairman of the All Nepal National Free Students’ Union affiliated to the CPN-UML and Ghimire is the former president of the NC-affiliated Nepal Students’ Union.

Most of the detainees among the 15 held are student activists of the seven-party alliance

and they were taken into custody on different dates during demonstrations held against the municipal elections scheduled for tomorrow.

The bench also ordered the authorities to clarify in writing within 15 days on why they have been kept in detention.

During today’s hearing advocates Agni Kharel, Madhav Banskota, Tika Ram Bhattarai,

Bhim Dhakal, Ram Prasad Bhattarai and Raj Kumar Katwal sought the Supreme Court

order to release the student leaders immediately as they have been detained illegally.