The Supreme Court on Thursday released CK Raut, a Free Madhes campaigner, on general date.

A division bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana and Justice Purushottam Bhandari also told the Rautahat District Court to continue investigation into Raut.

“Since the case will be decided later as per the evidence collected, continue investigation by releasing him on date as per Clause 69 of the Muluki Criminal (Work Procedure) Act-2074,” states the SC’s order.

Raut, coordinator of the Alliance for Independent Madhes, was arrested on October 7 last year from the premises of Rautahat District Court for instigating an organised crime against the state.

Raut had challenged the decision of Rautahat District Court’s decision to keep him in judicial custody but the Birgunj bench of Janakpur High-Court had quashed his petition on January 17.

After keeping him in detention for two months, Rautahat District Court on December 6 last year had remanded the activist to judicial custody.

The Supreme Court, on December 3 last year, had quashed a writ petition claiming that Raut had been detained illegally.

A joint bench of apex court Justices Deepak Raj Joshee and Bam Kumar Shrestha had decided to scrap a habeas corpus writ petition filed by Raut's supporters and ordered that Raut’s custody be handed over to Gaur Police.

A case of organised crime against the state is sub judice against Raut at Rautahat District Court.

Raut, who was caught in Rautahat on October 7, was brought to Kathmandu and presented before the apex court on November 15 after his supporters filed a habeas corpus petition.

Earlier, police detained Raut from a house in the Machhabazaar area of Janakpur in Dhanusha district on January 2017. He was released after the apex court found him not guilty.

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