The Supreme Court has ordered authorities to explain why journalist Kishor Shrestha should not be released, two days after police arrested the editor of the weekly Jana Aastha.

A single bench of Justice Bal Krishna Dhakal issued the show-cause order on Friday in response to a habeas corpus petition filed on Shrestha’s behalf by his wife, Saraswati Shrestha.

The court ordered the authorities to submit a written response by Monday, along with Shrestha in person. It also directed them to bring the investigation file, including the complaint filed against him, as well as electronic devices seized from his home and office, including a CPU, laptop, iPad and mobile phone.

The Kathmandu District Court on Thursday authorised police to detain Shrestha for three days for investigation. Police arrested him late Wednesday from Lalitpur, saying he was being investigated for allegedly violating Nepal’s Privacy Act, 2018.

The arrest has sparked a widespread debate, with opinions sharply divided.

While a large section of the media fraternity has criticised the arrest, calling the move an attack on the free press, others have welcomed it, levelling allegations against him that, under the guise of journalism, he was perpetrating violence against women.

The Federation of Nepali Journalists, the country’s largest journalists’ organisation, staged a protest outside the Kathmandu District Police Range on Thursday and demanded Shrestha’s unconditional release.

In a statement, FNJ general secretary Ram Prasad Dahal accused the authorities of engaging in “anti-press” conduct and said disputes over news content should be handled through the Press Council Nepal rather than criminal investigations.

The FNJ said the police action amounted to an encroachment on the Press Council’s jurisdiction.

“The Press Council Nepal has jurisdiction over complaints concerning news content,” the federation said, arguing that using state machinery to investigate a journalist’s source was contrary to press freedom, freedom of expression and the constitution.

Police raided the Jana Aastha weekly office in Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur, early Thursday, hours after Shrestha’s arrest. Investigators seized computers and other electronic equipment as part of the inquiry, according to Kathmandu District Police Range spokesperson Superintendent of Police Dan Bahadur Thapa.