Kathmandu, Aug 17: The Supreme Court is set to hear today the habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of Jan Aastha weekly editor Kishor Shrestha, who is in custody on charges of violating personal privacy.
The petition, filed by Shrestha’s wife Saraswati Shrestha, has been listed before a joint bench of Supreme Court justices Nahakul Subedi and Balkrishna Dhakal.
On August 14, a single bench of Justice Balkrishna Dhakal had ordered that Shrestha be brought before the court on September 17 along with the items seized from him. In line with that order, the court will examine today the legal basis for his arrest and detention.
Police arrested Shrestha from his residence in Lalitpur on Wednesday night on charges of violating personal privacy. His wife filed the habeas corpus petition at the Supreme Court on Thursday.
The petition claims that Shrestha has been unlawfully detained and seeks an order for his immediate production before the court and release from custody.
The court could decide today whether to continue his detention or order his release.
Shrestha’s arrest and the subsequent habeas corpus petition have also drawn attention in the context of press and freedom of expression.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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