Nepali journalist Sushil Pant and website owner Santosh Bhattarai were arrested eight days ago for publishing an online news story about a girls' college in Kathmandu.
The pair were detained after the college's management complained that the article, on www.nepaliheadlines.com, had severely affected the reputation of its students.
Another journalist, Pushkar Nath Kandel, was arrested because his site, www.extrakhabar.net, also ran the story.
The Nepal press council has urged the government to release the journalists, as has the International Press Institute (IPI).
Source: IPI
