The Kathmandu District Court has ordered the release of Rastriya Swatantra Party central member and former National Planning Commission member Arnico Panday on bail of Rs20,000.

A single bench of Judge Dhruvaraj Upreti issued the order on Friday.

Panday will be freed after depositing the bail amount and will stand trial while remaining out of custody.

Panday had been in custody at the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police since Wednesday after a woman filed a complaint accusing him of harassing her online through WhatsApp and email.

The complainant alleged that Panday used abusive and defamatory language against her, questioning her integrity and describing her as being of “bad character.”

Cyber Bureau spokesperson Superintendent of Police Deepak Raj Awasthi said earlier that the bureau had filed the case under Section 47 of the Electronic Transactions Act, which broadly criminalises cyberbullying, defamation and online abuse.

Panday was arrested on Wednesday, but as he could not be presented before the court the same day, he was taken on Thursday when investigators sought an extension of his custody. The court initially granted four more days of detention, but on Friday it decided to release him on bail.

Section 47 of the Electronic Transactions Act allows for fines of up to Rs100,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both, for offences involving electronic communication that undermine public morality, defame individuals, spread hate or harm social harmony. The law also states that repeat offences are subject to increased punishment.

The Cyber Bureau has said that although Nepal’s laws do not define specific categories of online harassment, the case falls under the provisions covering cyberbullying and character assassination.