Kathmandu, August 20
The Patan High Court has issued an interim order preventing authorities from arresting journalist Kishor Shrestha, publisher of Jana Aastha weekly, over a news report published by the newspaper.
A bench of Judge Achyut Kuikel said the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Press Council Nepal and ordered that Shrestha not be arrested or subjected to coercive action over the published report.
The court cited three grounds for its order.
First, a complaint regarding the published report has already been filed with the Press Council, which has jurisdiction to deal with such matters.
Second, the court referred to the constitutional guarantees of freedom of opinion and expression under Article 17 and the right to communication under Article 19.
Third, the court also took into consideration an order issued by the Supreme Court two days earlier concerning similar issues.
Deputy Speaker Rubi Kumari Thakur had filed a complaint with the Press Council after Jana Aastha published a report last week concerning what she described as her private affairs, claiming that the publication violated her right to privacy.
She subsequently filed a police complaint as well.
Shrestha approached the Patan High Court seeking an order to prevent his arrest after learning that police were attempting to obtain an arrest warrant from the Lalitpur District Court.
However, before the High Court could hear his petition, the Lalitpur District Court had refused to issue an arrest warrant against Shrestha, citing procedural shortcomings.
