Writ petition filed against advertisement bill

            Kathmandu: A writ petition has been registered at the apex court against the Advertisement Management Act – which was endorsed by both the House of Representatives and National Assembly.

            Advocate Ananta Raj Luitel filed the writ at the constitutional bench today naming Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers as the opponent.

            Luitel in the writ petition said that the advertisement act, endorsed from both upper and lower house of the federal parliament, has limited freedom of expression and urged the authorities not to implement the Act.

            The Act which had come to effect following certification from the President on 25 October 2019 has undermined the constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of expression and right to communications, noted in the writ.

            The provisions of Article 8 (1) and (2) of the Act regarding particular time determination and Article 15 (B) regarding stipulating standards on the basis of examination of the content to be disseminated by communication media could directly impose pre-censorship in the advertisement, the writ added.

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