Supreme Court quashes contempt of court case against Kantipur
The case was filed two years ago over a series of stories published in Kantipur daily on then chief justice Gopal Prasad Parajuli. In this file photo, (right to left) Kailash Sirohiya, chairman and managing director, Kantipur Media Group; Swastika Sirohiya, director Kantipur Publications; and Editor-in-Chief Sudheer Sharma at the Supreme Court to record their statement. Post file photo.
The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed a contempt case against Kantipur Publications.
The case, filed by advocate Toyanath Dhungana in February 2018 over a series of stories on discrepancies in then Chief Justice Gopal Prasad Parajuli’s official birthdate, was dismissed by a joint bench of Justices Dipak Kumar Karki, Mira Khadka, Hari Krishna Karki, Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha, Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada, Dr Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Prakash Man Singh Raut.
The suit against Kailash Sirohiya, chairman and managing director, Kantipur Media Group; Swastika Sirohiya, director Kantipur Publications; and Sudheer Sharma, Editor-in-Chief of Kantipur daily and Kantipur daily correspondent Krishna Gyawali, was dismissed after the bench said the plaintiff could not establish sufficient grounds for the case.
The decision comes two years after Parajuli issued the interim order directing the Press Council of Nepal to probe news reports published by Kantipur daily highlighting discrepancies in his own official documents.
Parajuli was relieved of his duties by the Judicial Council in March 2018, saying that he had reached retirement age on August 5, 2017. He resigned a day after being relieved of his duties.
Meanwhile, another contempt case against Dr Govinda KC for speaking out against Parajuli has also been quashed. KC, who started his 14th indefinite hunger strike on January 8, 2018, demanding that Parajuli resign, was arrested on the charge of contempt of court. He also filed a complaint at the Judicial Council demanding that it investigate Parajuli’s conduct. KC’s arrest had sparked condemnation from all quarters, and he was later released on general date.
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