The Supreme Court has ordered the release of Dharmendraraj Bastola, general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (Bahumat).

A joint bench of Justices Kumar Regmi and Nityananda Pandey on Thursday issued the order to free Bastola.

Police had arrested Bastola on February 17 on allegations of involvement in activities to boycott the House of Representatives elections scheduled for March 5. Savitri Kumari had filed a habeas corpus petition at the court on February 22, challenging his detention.

Bastola was arrested from the Sundhara area of Kathmandu by a team from the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office, Teku.

Police had said he was detained for investigation after the party called a strike opposing the election, alleging that the protest spread fear among the public and disrupted public service delivery.