KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has ruled that ‘Sidhakura.com’ committed contempt of court, sentencing editor, publisher, and news source Rajkumar Timalsina to six months in prison. The court also sentenced publisher Yubraj Kandel and editor Nabin Dhungana to three months imprisonment. Additionally, the news portal ‘Sidhakura.com’ has been fined Rs 5,000.
The court offered leniency to Dhungana and Kandel, stating that if they present themselves before the Supreme Court, apologize, and provide a written commitment not to repeat such actions, their sentence would be reduced to seven days from three months.
The decision was made by a full bench of Chief Justice Bishwombhar Prasad Shrestha and Justices Prakash Man Singh Raut, Sapna Pradhan Malla, Prakash Kumar Dhungana, Hariprasad Phuyal, Nahkul Subedi, Vinod Sharma, Mahesh Sharma Paudel, and Balkrishna Dhakal.
After the verdict, Dhungana, respecting the court’s decision, posted on social media platform X, acknowledging that he and Kandel had been sent to Jagannath Deval Central Jail. He reassured readers that they would continue their commitment to reporting the truth, stating, “We will never be distracted from the religion of news.”
The controversy stems from ‘Sidhakura.com’s broadcast of a series called ‘Dark Files,’ which claimed that the decision to cancel regulations related to sting operations was influenced by external forces. The news portal had run headlines alleging that Supreme Court judges were involved in dismissing over 400 corruption cases.
Following these broadcasts, a writ was filed in the Supreme Court, calling the allegations false and naming Kandel, Dhungana, and Timalsina as defendants.
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