The Kathmandu District Court has quashed an earlier interlocutory order that directed two online news portals—Nepalkhabar and Bizmandu—to remove published articles about Santosh Narayan Shrestha, chairperson of the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon).

The bench of Judge Shyam Bihari Maurya dismissed Shrestha’s petition seeking an injunction to prevent further reporting and to remove existing content.

“The application for a restraining order has been rejected,” court spokesperson Deepak Kumar Shrestha confirmed.

With this decision, the order issued by Judge Pitambar Sharma on June 11 has also been nullified. The previous order had instructed both websites to “immediately take down” news articles and to refrain from publishing additional reports about Shrestha.

The order had drawn significant criticism from civil society and the media fraternity, who argued it was a violation of constitutionally protected press freedom.

The Federation of Nepali Journalists and other organisations condemned the ruling, saying it undermined the right to free expression and the role of journalism in holding public officials accountable.

The initial complaint had alleged that the articles caused reputational damage and contained unverified information. However, the latest ruling means both platforms are no longer under legal obligation to remove the contested content, pending any further legal developments.