KATHMANDU, Feb. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- The Nepali government releases former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Prakash Man Singh, former minister for physical planning and works, from jail at midnight Monday.

    "Deuba was freed at the Police Academy in Maharajgunj, in downtown Kathmandu city, where he was detained," Prakash Raut, Deuba's personal lawyer, told reporters Tuesday.

    Singh was also freed from Pahara Gan, an Royal Nepalese Army barrack, at Tripureshwor in downtown Kathmandu city, Raut noted, adding, "Police officials escorted both leaders to their homes."

    They were released after the Supreme Court (SC) of Nepal on Monday ordered dissolution of the Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC), an anti-graft body constituted by King Gyanendra about one year ago.

    A special bench of five SC justices -- Kedar Prasad Giri, Min Bahadur Rayamajhi, Ram Nagina Singh, Anup Raj Sharma and Ram Prasad Shrestha -- decided to dissolve the RCCC formed after the king took over power on Feb. 1, 2005.

    The apex court observed that the RCCC was formed against the spirit of the Constitution 1990 of Nepal. "The king has no authority to form such a commission under Article 127 of the constitution," said a unanimous decision of the bench.

    The SC bench also ordered to invalidate all the actions and decisions taken by the anti-corruption body.

    The RCCC on July 26, 2005, slapped a two-year jail sentence and 90 million Nepali rupees (1.29 million US dollars) fine to Deuba and Singh in its verdict on their alleged irregularities in the contract awarding process of a multi-million dollars drinking water project during Deuba's last tenure. Enditem