The Patan High Court on Monday issued an interlocutory interim order preventing authorities from arresting senior journalist Dil Bhusan Pathak without legal ground.

The decision follows a recent arrest warrant issued by the Kathmandu District Court in connection with Pathak’s Tough Talk Youtube episode alleging financial links between the Hilton Kathmandu and Jaiveer Singh Deuba.

A single bench of Judge Rishi Bhandari issued the order after hearing Pathak’s petition seeking a prohibition order.

“The interlocutory interim order instructs authorities not to detain or cause the detention of Pathak without legal ground, and calls both parties for a hearing on June 19,” Parbati Hitan, information officer for the court, said after the court’s session on Monday.

The court said it issued the interlocutory order in view of the gravity of the matter and that it will decide whether to issue an interim order based on further hearings.

The warrant was based on a complaint filed by Jaiveer Singh Deuba, son of Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba and Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba. The complaint concerned a video titled “Jaiveer Deuba’s Money in Hilton!”, which was published on Pathak’s YouTube channel and raised questions about Deuba’s alleged involvement in a share transaction related to the Hilton Hotel.

In response to the warrant, Pathak had petitioned the Patan High Court, arguing that such matters fall under the jurisdiction of the Press Council Nepal, not criminal prosecution under the Electronic Transactions Act.

Media organisations and various other rights bodies have expressed their serious concern over the case describing it as an indication of the authorities’ intention to suppress the voice critical against the government.