KATHMANDU, Sept 20: Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut has clarified that the Supreme Court did not direct the government to shut down social media. In an interview with journalist Tikaram Yatri, he said the apex court had merely directed the government to “regulate social media through legislation.”
“At the Supreme Court, nine justices clearly stated in the Sidhakura.com verdict that the government should regulate social media by enacting laws. That’s it—the bottom line,” Chief Justice Raut said. “It was simply a matter of saying: regulate social media through proper legislation.”
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He added that regulating social media through legal frameworks is a standard practice worldwide. “Whenever any issue arises, laws are made. To make laws and regulate accordingly is all that was meant; nothing else,” he noted.
When the government temporarily disabled social media, it cited the Supreme Court’s order as justification. On this, Chief Justice Raut emphasized: “The court never said to shut down social media. That has been widely misinterpreted, and even exaggerated. Where did we ever say to shut it down? That is not the case.”
