Judges Giri Raj Paudel and Kumar Chudal asked around 15 questions during the two-hour grilling. He was asked about the basis, evidence and source for his news report. The grilling will continue from 10 Thursday morning.[break]
The Appellate Court Bar Association chapters in Morang and Sunsari had jointly filed a contempt of court case claiming that the news report about the release of abduction accused published in Nagarik daily on December 21 defamed the court.
Dhakal, SP Karki, Editor-in-Chief of Nagarik Narayan Wagle, Nepal Republic Media Managing Director Binod Raj Gyawali and Director Shova Gyawali were made defendants in the case. Dhakal and SP Karki were asked to be present in the court within three days of receiving the notice while the rest were given seven days.
Dhakal in his statement argued that he filed the report to disseminate information to the public as court decisions are a matter of public interest. “I had not written the news to defame the court,” Dhakal said.
He insisted that he has been unfairly treated as the contempt of court case was registered without sending a rebuttal to the newspaper and filing a complaint at the Press Council.
Advocates Anjan Kumar Dahal, Lila Mani Paudel, Uddhav Chandra Ghimire, Dhruba Ghimire and Sushila Thapa have registered to plead on Dhakal´s behalf. SP Karki went to the court with a written statement, as required by the court, at three in the afternoon. The hearings will start recoding the statements of all the accused.
Related story
16 accused record statements before the court
