The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday ordered the government to release 18 opposition political leaders from security custody.

A joint bench of Justice Paramananda Jha and Gauri Dhakal ordered the government to immediately release 16 Nepali Congress (NC) leaders and two People’s Front Nepal (PFN) leaders who were taken into custody from Kathmandu on different dates.

The SC bench said the detention of the leaders was illegal and ordered the government to free them under the auspices of the Kathmandu district court.

Mahantha Thakur, Dr Ram Baran Yadav, Laxman Ghimire, Shekhar Koirala, Sujata Koirala, Tirtha Ram Dangol and Bhimsen Das Pradhan were among the 16 NC leaders whom the court ordered to be freed. Likewise, the court also ordered the release of PFN leaders Ghan Shyam Sharma Poudel and Hari Acharya.

Some of the leaders were freed as soon as the court order came while the authorities have started process to free others, it is learnt.