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KATHMANDU,June 11: Media Action Nepal has expressed serious concern over a short-term interim order issued by the Kathmandu District Court on June 10, directing online news portals Bizmandu and Nepal Khabar to delete published news reports and refrain from further reporting on the issue. The organisation has also strongly condemned the court's issuance of an arrest warrant against senior journalist Dil Bhusan Pathak on the same day.
The organisation said both actions amount to violations of press freedom, which is guaranteed by the Constitution of Nepal. It urged the judiciary to exercise greater restraint in matters concerning media freedom.
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Issuing an arrest warrant against journalist Pathak under the Electronic Transactions Act represents a serious legal overreach, Media Action Nepal stated. It emphasised that media outlets have the right to engage in fair criticism, even when reporting on individuals connected to powerful political figures. This development, it said, poses a grave threat to democratic values and constitutional freedoms.
These incidents are not isolated. In a recent example, the Supreme Court sentenced journalists Nabin Dhungana and Yubraj Kandel to three months in prison for contempt of court—raising further concerns over increasing judicial action targeting the press.
Laxman Datt Pant, Founding Chair and Executive Director of Media Action Nepal, warned of the broader implications of such decisions. “The interim order directing Bizmandu and Nepal Khabar to remove their content and halt further reporting sets a troubling precedent,” he said. Suppressing the dissemination of news without concrete proof of misinformation, he added, constitutes a direct violation of constitutional protections.
Pant further criticised what he called the criminalisation of journalism. “In the name of democracy, the authorities are becoming increasingly authoritarian,” he said. “The arrest warrant against Dil Bhusan Pathak under Section 47 of the Electronic Transactions Act is a blatant attack on press freedom.” He stressed that when allegations involve powerful individuals or their relatives, the appropriate response must be one of transparency and accountability—not intimidation or legal harassment.
