Hyderabad, Dec 8 (IANS): The Andhra Pradesh High Court Thursday ordered release of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader Cheruku Sudhakar, declaring his detention under the National Security Act (NSA) as illegal.

Acting on petitions by his wife, TRS and Telangana Advocates Joint Action Committee (JAC), the court directed the government to immediately release Sudhakar on bail.

The order came two days after the state government, in an extraordinary move, issued an order detaining the TRS politburo member for 12 months.

A division bench of the court found fault with the government for ordering Sudhakar's detention merely on the ground of his association with Left-wing movement in the past.

The petitioners told the court that Sudhakar, a physician in Nalgonda, was living a peaceful life but implicated in false cases for taking part in the movement for separate statehood to Telangana.

The government move had evoked strong protests from Telangana protagonists. TRS staged protests across the region Wednesday, demanding his release. Ruling Congress party MPs from Telangana also condemned Sudhakar's detention and sought the intervention of the central government.

The government issued an order Wednesday following a recommendation by a high-powered committee headed by a retired judge. The three-member panel was constituted by the government.

The TRS leader was arrested in October on charges of pelting stones on buses coming from coastal Andhra region into Telangana. He was booked under NSA and had been in jail. The 50-year-old was arrested when his family was busy preparing for the marriage of his daughter.

TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao had called on Sudhakar at Warangal Central Jail a few days ago. Doctors in Nalgonda, Warangal and other parts of Telangana region had also been protesting in his support.