SC Issues Stay Order on Kantipur FM Case

Kathmandu, Oct 27-The Supreme Court today ordered the government not to initiate any action against Kantipur FM regarding the cancellation of its licence for airing news.

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel and justices Sarada Shrestha and Top Bahadur Magar ordered the government not to implement the letter of the Ministry of Information and Communications issued yesterday.

In the short-term interlocutory stay order, the bench told the government not to go ahead towards cancelling the licence of the Kantipur FM until October 30 when the hearing would be conducted on whether or not to issue a full-fledged stay order on Kantipur FM case and on the recently promulgated media ordinance case.

Early today, the Kantipur FM had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the government's move to revoke its licence.

Managing Director of the FM, Binod Raj Gyawali, today filed a writ petition seeking the apex court order to stay the government's warning to shut down his FM station. He sought the apex court stay order against the letter issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications yesterday giving 24-hour ultimatum to furnish explanation on why not to take action against it (Kantipur FM) for airing news. The memo threatened that if the explanation furnished was not satisfactory, the government could revoke its licence.
The apex court has scheduled the hearing for this afternoon.

On Monday, Chief Justice Dilip Kumar Paudel's single bench had declined to issue stay order on the government's action against it. He, however, had called the lawyers to move the SC if the government took action against any FM station. The SC had issued a show cause against the government authorities on why they had seized Kantipur’s equipment linking the regional broadcasting from Bhedetar of Dhankuta district.

The petition sought the apex court stay order against the letter issued by the Ministry yesterday giving 24-hour ultimatum to furnish explanation on why not to take action against it (Kantipur FM) for airing news. The memo threatened that if the explanation furnished was not satisfactory, the government could revoke its licence.