DHAKA: A bench of Bangladesh High Court on Wednesday ordered release of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das on bail, five months after he was arrested on an alleged charge of defaming the country’s national flag.

“The two-judge bench declared absolute its earlier rule asking authorities why he should not be granted bail,” an official of the High Court said.

The bench comprising Justice Atoar Rahman and Justice Ali Reza granted the bail after the final hearing on their previous rule.

A former ISKCON leader, Das was arrested at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 25. Now, a spokesperson for the Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote, a Hindu organisation, Das was taken to the court at the southeastern port city of Chattogram, which sent him to jail rejecting his bail petition the next day.