Kathmandu, August 5:

The Supreme Court today issued show cause notices to government authorities on its stance on the provisions of the Press and Publication Act, 1991, and the National Broadcasting Act, 1992. The government has imposed restrictions on the media through these two Acts. A single bench of Justice Ram Prasad Shrestha issued the order responding to a writ petition filed by journalist Narayan Dutta Kandel. He has challenged Section 15 (1) of the 1991 Act and Section 7 of the 1992 Act. The defendents in the case are the Cabinet Secretariat, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Information and Communications and the Parliamentary Secretariat. The petitioner has requested the SC to annul the provisions since they are contradictory to the Constitution.