KATHMANDU, April 26 -- The Supreme Court has upheld the decision to keep former Deputy Prime Minister and UML leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, along with the then Home Secretary Teknarayan Pandey and seven others, in pre-trial detention in connection with the fake Bhutanese refugee case.

A joint bench comprising Justices Kumar Regmi and Tek Prasad Dhungana declined to release them from remand on Thursday. After successive appeals through the district and high courts, only seven individuals remain in pre-trial detention in this high-profile case.

The joint bench upheld the previous rulings of the Kathmandu District Court and Patan High Court. Of those who appealed to the Supreme Court, seven have been ordered to remain in custody, while thr...