Kathmandu, March 14:

The Home Ministry today told the Supreme Court that Chet Nath Ghimire, one among the 27 people made to disappear by the state, is in the control of the Nepalese Army Headquarters.

The ministry, however, did not specify why Ghimire had not been freed. After receiving a written reply from the ministry, a division bench of Justices Khil Raj Regmi and Kalyan Shrestha directed the Army Headquarters to present Ghimire before the apex court on March 20.

The bench issued the order following a final hearing on separate habeas corpus petitions seeking the release of 27 missing people, including Ghimire. The government authorities, including the Home Ministry, have not yet specified the whereabouts of the 26 persons.

The SC has set April 11 to announce its verdict on the case of the 27 missing persons. A panel headed by appellate court judge Lokendra Mallik has been investigating the whereabouts of some missing people, as there are separate petitions concerning 491 persons pending in the Supreme Court.