Kathmandu, April 7: A writ petition has been filed at the Supreme Court of Nepal challenging the government’s decision to stop providing advertisements to private media outlets.
The court is scheduled to hold a preliminary hearing on the petition today, on Tuesday.
Advocate Ananta Raj Luintel filed the petition on behalf of the Nepal Media Society, an umbrella body of newspaper publishers.
The petition argues that the government’s move aims to weaken constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression. On March 31, a secretary-level decision at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers directed that all government advertisements be published only through state-owned media.
The circular also instructed federal ministries, other agencies, provincial governments, and local bodies not to place advertisements in private media.
The petition claims the decision contradicts the Advertisement Act 2019 (Nepal) and undermines several fundamental rights. It also seeks an interim order, warning that immediate implementation of the decision could cause irreparable damage to the media sector.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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