The Supreme Court on Friday ordered authorities to produce medical entrepreneur and political activist Durga Prasain before the court.

A single bench of Justice Shreekanta Paudel issued the order while hearing a habeas corpus petition. The court also directed the government to furnish written grounds for his arrest.

The petition was filed by Uma Prasain on behalf of Prasain.

Earlier, on February 6, Prasain was released on recognisance after being arrested. At the time, the Cyber Bureau had taken his statement, citing remarks he made about the elections as the basis for investigation.

Police have repeatedly detained Prasain on suspicion that he was preparing to launch a campaign to disrupt the elections scheduled for March 5. He was also arrested in Pokhara and later released after questioning.

On Tuesday, police obtained permission from the District Administration Office, Kathmandu, to keep Prasain in custody for four days for investigation on charges of spreading rumours about the elections and committing an offence against public peace and security.

Senior Superintendent of Police Ramesh Thapa, chief of Kathmandu police, said police were authorised to proceed with further investigation while keeping him in custody.

Prasain was arrested on Monday evening in Thimi and taken to the District Police Range, Kathmandu.

He leads the ‘Nation, nationality, religion, culture and citizens’ grand campaign and had previously been detained over allegations of disseminating misleading information undermining the credibility of the Election Commission.