Supreme Court Rules Detention of KP Sharma Oli and Ramesh Lekhak Legal

Kathmandu. The Supreme Court has ruled that the detention of CPN (UML) Chairman KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress leader Ramesh Lekhak cannot be termed as illegal.

On Monday, a joint bench of Justices Binod Sharma and Sunil Kumar Pokharel determined that keeping them in judicial custody following court-approved extensions for criminal investigation is not contrary to the law.

Habeas corpus petitions were filed by Radhika Shakya on behalf of her husband, Oli, and Yashoda Lekhak on behalf of her husband, Lekhak, claiming their detention was illegal. 

The order states, 'Given the situation observed from the investigation files received through the Office of the Attorney General, the act of keeping them in judicial custody after court-approved extensions during the criminal investigation cannot be termed as contrary to the law; therefore, a writ of habeas corpus cannot be issued.'

The court noted that the petitioners were arrested on Chaitra 14, received arrest authorization from the Kathmandu District Court on the 15th, and have been under investigation with repeated remand extensions, confirming the process is in accordance with the law. They are being investigated for homicide-related offenses during protests that occurred on 2082 Bhadra 23 and 24.

While upholding the legality of the detention, the Supreme Court has issued a mandamus order allowing them to remain outside of custody during the investigation based on specific humanitarian grounds.