It is the legal responsibility of broadcasters to check any communication material before transmission and to take legal responsibility after transmission. Because the Constitution of Nepal has not only guaranteed full freedom of speech and freedom of the press, it has also guaranteed the dignity of individuals. Freedom of the press must be protected but cannot be separated from due process and accountability
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Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an organization that monitors and records press freedom around the world, released a report last month showing that press freedom is shrinking in Nepal. A year ago, in the 2024 report, Nepal was ranked 74th out of 180 countries with a score of 60.52, and in 2025, it fell to the 90th position with a score of 55.2.
Freedom of press and expression is not automatically established by the words written in the constitution as ``Democratic Republic of Nepal'', for this, citizens, professionals and the state apparatus must be aware and accountable for their rights and responsibilities. A state is a composite organization of government, parliament, courts, citizens and geography. This process only operates through questions, responsibility and accountability to each other. When this chain of mutual responsibility breaks down, chaos sets in within the state. Now we are facing the same situation.
In recent times, questions have been raised about two steps of the state system. One, the order issued to remove news published on Bizmandu.com and Nepalkhabar.com and second, the order to arrest journalist Dilbhushan Pathak. The short-term interim order issued by the Kathmandu District Court on Tuesday to remove the news published on Bizmandu.com and Nepalkhabar.com has shocked everyone. The first formula of
journalism is that the subject is not the absolute truth, that is the news. It is not necessary that a subject should be comfortable or uncomfortable for 100% of people at the same time. Where there is a dispute, it is for the courts to interpret, order and decide the law. But the court is not an institution that gives abstract and unpredictable orders. It is the constitution and laws that guide him too.
News published in Bizmandu, Nepalkhabar or any other media cannot be undisputed. The media is not exempt from the legal system of confirming the news before publishing it and asking for forgiveness if it is wrong, and if it does not do so, it is subject to fines. The relationship between society and the media has been continuous for centuries based on the established legal practice of apologizing or being party to legal punishment if the published news is false.
Since then, the entire process of debate, controversy and dialogue between the entire mechanism of journalism, communication, law and justice has been broken after the bench of Kathmandu District Court Judge Pitambar Sharma gave a short-term interim order to remove the news as soon as the accused party made a demand in the news published about the Nepal Securities Board. It is also the practice and responsibility of the court to verify the facts of the news published by the media, to hear the arguments of both sides. District Court Kathmandu has given the order without even inquiring about the
related media on the basis of which the news was written. The way of fact-checking of the news has also been blocked by the order that 'opponents should not publish, broadcast, or publish unverified, unsubstantiated news on their own websites, online or through other means, and immediately remove the published news from online'. If the news is declared as 'unverified' and 'unsubstantiated' before the arguments, facts and evidence of both sides are discussed, the process of hearing and debate will be futile.
Similarly, the video content published by journalist Dilbhushan Pathak has also raised questions about the activism of the state apparatus. The cyber bureau of the police has taken an arrest warrant from the court regarding the content aired on 'Tough Talk with Dilbhushan Pathak'. The video has been prepared by Jayveer Deuba, the son of former Prime Minister and Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Foreign Minister Arju Deuba, who said that he 'purchased the Hilton Hotel in Kathmandu and also invested abroad'.
The warrant of arrest against Pathak and the order of the Kathmandu District Court have also worried citizens and professionals alike. In a democratic system, citizens, press, parliament, courts and government are critics of each other, critics, but not enemies. If hostility is seen in their behavior towards each other, the second question is who will it weaken, but it will weaken the society and the country, this is the current situation.
It is the legal responsibility of broadcasters to check any communication content before broadcasting and to take legal responsibility after broadcasting. Because the Constitution of Nepal has not only guaranteed full freedom of speech and freedom of the press, it has also guaranteed the dignity of individuals. Freedom of the press must be protected but cannot be separated from due process and accountability.
This is the role of the press council and then the courts if there is a disconnect between responsibility and accountability. Only the natural practices envisioned by our constitution can protect the reputation of individuals, media and the state . The assessment of truth is only possible through transparent legal process and institutional restraint.
