Supreme Court Strikes Down Government Circular Withholding Advertisements from Private Media

Kathmandu: The Supreme Court of Nepal has ruled to invalidate the government’s circular that barred the allocation of government advertisements to private media outlets.

A joint bench of Justices Sharanga Subedi and Nripdhwaj Niraula delivered the verdict, annulling the government circular issued on Chaitra 18, 2082 BS, which had directed that government advertisements not be provided to private media organizations.

According to Supreme Court spokesperson Arjun Prasad Koirala, the full text of the judgment is yet to be released.

The writ petition was filed by advocate Ananta Raj Luitel, the authorized representative of the Media Society. The petition argued that the government’s decision regarding the distribution of public advertisements to private media was unlawful and sought the cancellation of the circular.