KATHMANDU, Sept 29: The Supreme Court (SC) has found the executive editor of Sidhakura.com Nabin Dhungana, publisher Yubaraj Kandel, and Rajkumar Timalsina (source) guilty of contempt of court. 

According to SC Spokesperson Achyut Kuinkel, a full bench on Sunday sentenced Timalsina to six months in prison, while Kandel and Dhungana were each sentenced to three months. The court ruled that the website’s repeated dissemination of unverified and false information amounted to a serious obstruction of justice by undermining the integrity of the judiciary and spreading unsubstantiated rumors about the court and its judges.

Spokesperson Kuinkel informed Republica that the court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the news portal. While Kandel and Dhungana expressed regret in their statements, the Supreme Court declared that their apologies were not unconditional. The court offered them a reduced sentence of seven days if they submit an unconditional apology in written form and commit to refraining from such actions in the future. Should they fail to do so, they will serve the full three-month sentence.

Timalsina, who did not apologize during the proceedings, was sentenced to six months, though the court noted that he could also seek a reduction in his sentence if he were to offer a written apology.

The decision stems from a series of news reports aired by the news portal, which the court found to be false. The full bench was led by Chief Justice Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha and included Justices Prakash Man Singh Raut, Sapana Pradhan Malla, Prakash Kumar Dhungana, Hari Prasad Phuyal, Nahakul Subedi, Binod Sharma, Mahesh Sharma Paudel and Bal Krishna Dhakal.

 
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