KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has ordered the authorities to present journalist and Janaastha Weekly editor Kishor Shrestha, along with the other defendants, before the court on August 17.
A bench of Justice Bal Krishna Dhakal issued the order on Friday while hearing a writ petition filed on Shrestha’s behalf. The court directed the Kathmandu District Court and the defendants to appear with the detained journalist, the investigation file, and the items seized during the investigation.
The order states that the court must examine why the relief sought by the petitioner should not be granted. If the defendants wish to contest the petition, they must submit a written response through the Office of the Attorney General by 10:00 am on August 17, clearly stating the legal grounds and reasons for their objection.
The court also instructed the authorities to produce the complaint and related investigation documents, along with the CPU, laptop, iPad, and mobile phone recovered from Shrestha’s home and office.
Police arrested Shrestha from his residence in Lalitpur on Wednesday night and took him into custody. His wife, Saraswati Shrestha, filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Thursday, alleging that he was being unlawfully detained. Following the hearing, the court issued the order on Friday.
According to Saraswati, police searched their house for a second time on Thursday and seized the CCTV camera storage device.
Earlier, on the evening of Shrestha’s arrest, police had also confiscated computers and other equipment from both his residence and the Janaastha office.
