KATHMANDU, May 1: The Supreme Court on Tuesday released a man who was arrested ten days ago on the charge of waving a black flag at Prime Minister KP Oli.
A division bench of Justices Deepak Kumar Karki and Hari Phuyal ordered the release of Rudra Prasad Ghimire following the hearing conducted on Tuesday.
Black is bold
The bench ordered his release saying that the detention was illegal. Ghimire was arrested ten days ago, on April 20, for showing a black flag and chanting slogans against Prime Minister Oli, who was attending the Jitgadhi festival in Rupandehi as chief guest. The Rupandehi chief district officer had remanded Ghimire to judicial custody. During the hearing, senior advocates Balkrishna Neupane and Surendra Bhandari, Narayan Prasad Ghimire among others had deliberated on behalf of the detainee.
While presenting a precedent of the Supreme Court set when a black flag was shown to King Mahendra in 1972 in public and the court had ordered release of six persons arrested on the charge, the lawyers asked the apex court to show courage to protect the fundamental rights of the citizens.
A habeas corpus petition was filed by advocate Mahesh Dangol in the Supreme Court challenging Ghimire’s arrest.
