The Supreme Court has scrapped the government's circular that prohibited providing government advertisements to private media.
On Tuesday, a bench of Justices Sharanga Subedi and Nripa Dhwaj Niraula issued the verdict on a writ petition that challenged the government's decision. The bench issued a writ of certiorari as demanded, effectively suspending the government's policy of not providing government advertisements to private media.
On April 1, the government had issued a circular directing that the federal government, provincial governments, local levels, and all bodies under them, as well as all bodies utilizing public funds must exclusively publish or broadcast their notices and advertisements on state-owned media, specifically Gorkhapatra Sansthan, Radio Nepal, and Nepal Television.
The circular was issued by the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers following a secretary-level decision.
Advocate Ananta Raj Luitel filed a writ petition against the decision on April 6 on behalf of the Nepal Media Society, an organization representing publishers of major media outlets, including national dailies.
The Nepal Media Society argued that the policy was intended to weaken the constitutional right to freedom of expression. It sought a writ of certiorari to quash the government's decision and circular, as well as a writ of mandamus prohibiting the government from taking any actions that would restrict or weaken press freedom.
