The Supreme Court has issued a show-cause order to the defendants in the habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of CPN-UML Senior Vice-chairman Bishnu Paudel.
A single bench of Justice Shreekanta Paudel issued the order during a hearing on Thursday, according to information published on the Supreme Court's website.
On Wednesday, Paudel's wife, Domaya, had filed a habeas corpus petition at the Supreme Court, claiming that her husband was being held in illegal detention.
She has named the Special Court, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Department of Money Laundering Investigation, and the District Police Office, Surkhet, as defendants in the petition.
These offices will now have to explain why Paudel has been detained, on what grounds, and why the court should not issue an order as sought by the petitioner.
Paudel was arrested by police on June 22 for investigation as his name was linked to the share transactions of Deepak Bhatta, who is currently in custody for a money laundering investigation.
After receiving a letter from the Department of Money Laundering Investigation, police issued an urgent arrest warrant and transported Paudel to Kathmandu in a van on Tuesday morning.
The Special Court granted permission on Tuesday to keep Paudel in custody for seven days for further investigation.
