The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has said that the Kathmandu District Court’s order to remove news articles published on two news websites is against the provisions and spirit of the Constitution.
On Tuesday, the Kathmandu District Court issued a short-term interim order directing two online news websites, nepalkhabar.com and bizmandu.com, to take down some published news articles.
"In cases where there is dissatisfaction over news published or broadcast in the media, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Press Council Nepal to receive complaints from the victims and take action against it. The federation concludes that this order issued by the court disregarding the council’s jurisdiction is against the international norms and standards on press freedom, and the provisions and spirit of the Constitution of Nepal 2015," reads a statement issued on Wednesday by FNJ General Secretary Ram Prasad Dahal.
The statement also says that the FNJ’s serious attention has been drawn to the short-term interim order issued by the Kathmandu District Court regarding news published on nepalkhabar.com and bizmandu.com.
A single bench of Judge Pitambar Sharma, while hearing writ petitions filed by Santosh Narayan Shrestha, chairman of the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON), on Tuesday, issued an interim order stating, “...considering the irreparable damage to the petitioner and the balance of convenience, the defendants are ordered not to publish or broadcast unverified, baseless news through their websites, online, or any other medium, and to immediately remove any such published news from online platforms.”
The Constitution, in its preamble itself, guarantees "full press freedom." The FNJ asserts that this constitutional guarantee of press freedom cannot be restricted by any authority’s order.
The FNJ firmly believes in respecting and complying with court decisions in a democracy, but it objects to this court order as it goes against the provisions and spirit of Nepal’s Constitution, and the prevailing norms and practices of press freedom, the statement says.
"The federation urges the authorities provisions to reconsider this order, failing which it will be compelled to pursue legal and other actions. Additionally, as the full responsibility for content published in the media lies with the media outlet concerned, and as it is their duty to verify the truth and facts if questions are raised regarding the content, the federation also urges media outlets to fully adhere to the journalists' code of conduct,” the statement issued by Dahal says.
