KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 6

The Supreme Court today stayed the Election Commission's decision to prohibit people from running No, Not Again campaign aimed at some old political leaders who, despite being old and active in politics for many decades, are contesting provincial and parliamentary elections once again.

A single bench of Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal issued the shortterm stay order against defendants in response to writ petitions filed separately by Senior Advocate Dinesh Tripathi and Advocate Anil Acharya.

In both the cases, the bench also issued a show cause notice to the defendants asking them to furnish written replies within 15 days. The apex court has summoned both sides on November 10 to present their arguments on whether or not the court should issue an interim order as demanded by the petitioners.

In the case filed by Acharya, the apex court ordered the EC not to prosecute Facebook groups under Electronic Transaction Act for running No, Not Again campaign.

Tripathi had filed a writ petition against the EC last week challenging its decision on the No, Not Again campaign. The EC recently warned such campaigners with punitive action 'as their campaign amounted to hate speech, which was prohibited by the election code of conduct.

Tripathi said the EC decision violated right to freedom of expression. He said the EC decision prohibiting people from using the slogan No, Not Again against any candidate was against the spirit of the constitution.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 7, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.