SC to deliver verdict on case against SidhaKura on August 22

KATHMANDU, Aug 2: The Supreme Court (SC) has scheduled to deliver its verdict on the contempt of court case against 'SidhaKura' Youtube channel on August 22.

A full bench of the SC has issued an order to submit the arguments within 15 days, while setting August 22 as the date for delivering the verdict.

The bench comprising nine justices, including Chief Justice Bishwombhar Prasad Shrestha, Prakashman Singh Raut, Sapana Pradhan Malla, Prakash Kumar Dhungana, Hari Prasad Phuyal, Nahakul Subedi, Binod Sharma, Mahesh Sharma Paudel and Balkrishna Dhakal has set August 22  as the date for delivering the verdict after the completion of the debate.

On April 26, the media outlet named 'SidhaKura' uploaded and broadcast a secret audio simultaneously from YouTube and other social networks under the title of ‘Exclusive Sting Operation: Secret deal to dismiss more than 400 cases, involvement of Supreme Court justices and owners of Kantipur and Annapurna dailies.’

The audio released by SidhaKura was verified as 'fake' by the Forensic Science Laboratory of Nepal Police. The Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police is investigating the origin and purpose of the audio. A Supreme Court official believes the Bureau's investigation report will be available before the verdict. 

Additionally, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police formed a committee to investigate 'The Dark File,' which also confirmed that the audio file was fake and submitted this report to the Supreme Court through the Attorney General's Office.

After receiving the forensic laboratory report from the police, on June 12, Justices Dr Kumar Chudal and Binod Sharma ordered that the contempt case be heard by a full bench due to its seriousness. 

Previously, a contempt of court case against Kantipur Media was decided by a seven-member full bench. For this case, a nine-member comprehensive bench was forms to ensure a decision from a larger panel.