The Patan High Court has issued a short-term interim order to not arrest journalist Dil Bhusan Pathak for now.
Pathak had filed a writ petition on Sunday at the high court against the arrest warrant issued for him. Hearing the petition on Monday, a bench of Justice Rishi Raj Bhandari issued the short-term interim order.
The court has summoned both parties on June 19 to discuss whether to issue an interim order or not.
"Considering the seriousness of the petitioner's case, a short-term interim order has been issued in the name of the respondents according to Rule 42 (1) (a) of the High Court Regulations, directing them not to arrest or detain petitioner Dil Bhushan Pathak, except as per the law," the order said.
Senior Advocate Dinesh Tripathi said that according to the short-term interim order, police cannot arrest Pathak until another order is issued.
"With this order, police cannot arrest [Pathak] for now," he said.
Senior Advocates Shambhu Thapa, Dinesh Tripathi, and Bhimarjun Acharya, along with Om Prakash Aryal, Santosh Bahadur Sigdel, Gokul Bhandari, Kulraj Lamichhane, Gokul Neupane, and Diwakar Puri argued on behalf of Pathak.
The court has also sought a written response within 15 days from the respondents on why an order as requested by Pathak should not be issued.
The Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police obtained an arrest warrant for Pathak on June 11. The Kathmandu District Court granted permission to the police to arrest Pathak for offenses under the Electronic Transactions Act.
Three weeks ago, Pathak broadcast a video report on Hilton Hotel and Jaybir Deuba, son of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, on his YouTube channel “Tough Talk with Dil Bhusan Pathak.”
The video, titled “Reality of Hilton Hotel and Jaybir Connection,” was published on May 16.
The Cyber Bureau obtained the arrest warrant following a complaint about the video.
The district court faced criticism for allegedly overstepping its jurisdiction in issuing the arrest warrant.
