Kathmandu, July 27

The Supreme Court today issued a press release saying its attention had been drawn to recent media reports, comments and activities about its recent orders/verdicts.

The apex court has not mentioned any particular case but said its two recent orders/verdicts had drawn flack.

A division bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana and Justice Tej Bahadur KC had commuted the life sentence of murder convict former deputy inspector general of Armed Police Force Ranjan Koirala to eight-and-a-half-years.

Similarly, the division bench of Sapana Pradhan Malla and Manoj Kumar Sharma had issued an order to release Prithvi Malla, who has been indicted in a vehicular manslaughter, on bail.

Some political leaders and critics have opposed these orders and verdicts.

The SC said that there was established principles and rules for seeking remedy against a court’s order and verdicts.

While the people have the right to make fair criticism against a verdict or order, people should also be mindful that dissemination of misleading news and comments about the judiciary’s acts and proceedings leads to erosion of people’s faith in the judiciary.

The SC said that it was an established constitutional principle, legal and judicial principle to correct any mistakes that might have been made during court proceedings and therefore, people should refrain from commenting on sub-judice cases in a manner that could adversely impact the administration of justice. The SC said it was always serious about people’s desire to see an independent, impartial and competent court and ensuring rule of law.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 28, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.