An extended full bench of the Supreme Court will now hear a contempt of court case against the publisher and editor of the news website Sidha Kura.

A division bench of Justices Kumar Chudal and Binod Sharma forwarded the case to the extended full bench for a final hearing, stressing the need for a comprehensive judicial interpretation of freedom of expression and press freedom.

The order stated that it would be appropriate to resolve the serious questions of whether the act defames Supreme Court justices, legal professionals, the media, and other individuals by an extended full bench.

The full text of the order, issued on June 12, was made public on Wednesday.

It is mentioned in the order that a forensic test showed that the audio-visual content broadcast by the news website was fabricated.

During an initial hearing on April 29, the apex court concluded that the audiovisual content published on sidhakura.com, a Kathmandu-based news website, was prima facie a malicious attempt to defame the judiciary, obstruct the judicial proceedings and scandalise the court.

The website had aired the content claiming that the chairpersons of two leading media houses were part of a meeting with the incumbent and former Supreme Court justices and senior advocates to dismiss over 400 corruption cases in the court. The April 21, 2021 verdict was part of the deal, it had claimed. However, the court has found the claim to be baseless.

After a hearing, the top court directed publisher Yubraj Kandel and executive editor Nabin Dhungana to appear in court with evidence to substantiate their reports and to explain why they shouldn’t be booked for contempt of court.

The petition has demanded a maximum punishment against Kandel and Dhungana and their team members in a contempt of court case.

The top court launched a suo moto contempt of court case against the publisher and the editor for allegedly publishing defamatory content against one of its justices.

Media organisations, including the Press Council Nepal, Media Society Nepal and the legal fraternity had immediately condemned the website for publishing baseless content.