Supreme Court Seeks Response on Plea Demanding Full Enforcement of Election Code of Conduct

Kathmandu. The Supreme Court has issued a show-cause order and sought a written response on a writ petition demanding the full implementation of the code of conduct for the House of Representatives elections. A single bench of Justice Shrikant Paudel has summoned both parties for a hearing on February 19 to decide whether to issue an interim order on the matter.

The writ petition, filed on Thursday by advocates Abhas Regmi, Ayush Badal, and Akash Dhakal, named the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, among others, as respondents. The petition demanded the effective enforcement of the election code of conduct.

The writ petition stated, "Issue a mandamus order not to transmit news content that negates the constitutional right to privacy under Article 27 and creates confusion, contrary to the Journalist Code of Conduct, 2073, and the Election Code of Conduct, 2082."

The writ petition also sought a prohibition order against Setopati Online, one of the respondents, to refrain from transmitting any news content that violates the Election Code of Conduct, 2082.

"The exercise of fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution will be unduly influenced, false messages regarding the election will reach the citizens, and the conversations made with citizens will create insecurity and irreparable harm to their lives and property," the writ petition stated. "Since the final decision on this writ petition will take time, in the few days remaining before the election, do not transmit, publish, or disseminate news content under various names such as 'analysis' or 'survey' that reflect the election results." The next hearing for this writ petition will take place on February 19.