Release three former ministers:SC

The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the government to release three ministers of the erstwhile royal cabinet, Ramesh Nath Pandey, Shris Shumshere Rana and Nikshya Shumshere Rana.

Terming their detention as unconstitutional, a full bench of the SC comprising Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel and justices Min Bahadur Raymajhi, Ram Nagina Singh, Anup Raj Sharma and Khil Raj Regmi issued the order.

The case was presented before the full court after a division bench of Justices Kedar Prasad Giri and Tapa Bahadur Magar failed to decide it, citing legal complexities.

After hearings on habaes corpus petitions filed by former minister Ramesh Nath Pandey, former minister of state Shrish Shumsher Rana and former assistant minister Nikshya Shumsher Rana, a full bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Poudel ordered the government to immediately release the three former ministers saying that the court found that "they were being held without adequate basis and reasons."

Advocate Tika Ram Adhikary had filed a habeas corpus petition two weeks ago, seeking release of the former ministers claiming that the government had detained them illegally.The seven-party alliance (SPA) government formed after the reinstatement of the House of Representatives had detained five former ministers in the erstwhile royal cabinet.

Former home minister Kamal Thapa, former foreign minister Ramesh Nath Pandey and former state minister for information and communication Shris Shumshere Rana were arrested on May 12 following a government decision.

Two other ministers in the royal cabinet, Tanka Dhakal and Nikshhya Shumshere Rana were also detained.Pandey, Shris Shumshere and Nikshya Shumshere had filed separate habeas corpus writ petition at the Apex Court following their arrest. Thapa and Dhakal did not seek any legal remedy against their detention.

All the arrested ministers had been handed a 90-day detention letter.

The ministers were arrested for "trying to suppress the recent pro-democracy movement" following immense public pressure and apparently a recommendation by the high-level judicial commission formed under the chairmanship of former SC justice Krishna Jung Raymajhi to probe the "excessive use of force" by the royal regime to suppress the prodemocracy movement.