Nepal UK
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A draft Media Council bill released for consultation sets out three tiers of alleged journalistic misconduct, the most serious carrying suspension of press credentials for up to a year. Journalists' representatives say the council's appointment structure leaves too much room for government influence. The bill is a proposal, not law.
Nepal's government has published a draft Media Council bill that would let a new regulator suspend journalists' press passes for up to one year in cases of "severe violations", according to the Kathmandu Post (29 September 2026). Media representatives quoted by the newspaper say the way the council would be appointed could turn a self-regulatory idea into a state-influenced one.
The Post reports that the bill divides alleged misconduct into three levels.
The first covers journalistic errors, such as mistakes in names, dates, statistics or typography. The remedy is a correction or an apology.
The second covers professional negligence: inadequate fact-checking, failing to give an accused party a chance to respond, or distorting headlines. Responses include a formal explanation, a public retraction and an official record of the breach.
The third, "severe violations", includes disclosing the identity of child victims, inciting religious hatred, character assassination, contempt of court and breaches of national security. The Post reports that these can bring suspension of a press pass for up to one year and the freezing of government benefits. The exact benefits are not itemised in the report; in particular, we could not confirm from the sources reviewed whether state advertising is named in the text, so readers should check the draft itself.
Affected parties could seek monetary compensation through district courts under Section 26 and appeal council decisions to the High Court within 35 days, the Post says.
Supporters of regulation can point to genuine harms in the list of severe violations; protecting child victims and preventing incitement are widely accepted ethical limits. The disagreement is over who decides.
According to the Post, the council would have three members chosen by a recommendation committee led by the House Speaker, including the communications minister and a government-nominated media expert with at least 15 years' experience. A 15-member Directive Committee would include journalists, academics and IT specialists, but the ministry would nominate seven media representatives.
Nitu Pandit, vice president of the Federation of Nepali Journalists, said the bill "must embody the spirit of consultation and coordination." Shiva Gaunle, a former FNJ president, warned the structure risks making the council "a government organ monitoring the press." The Post reports no official government response to these criticisms.
Several of the severe categories are open to interpretation. "Character assassination" and threats to "national security" are terms that critics of similar laws elsewhere have said can be applied unevenly. That is analysis, not a finding about this bill; the sources reviewed do not show how the draft defines them, and the Post does not report on the definitions. Who initiates a complaint, and whether the council can act without one, are likewise not covered in the report.
The High Court appeal offers a check, but a 35-day route to a court does not undo a suspension already in force, and the draft's provisions on interim effect were not reported.
This is not the first attempt. In May 2019 the International Federation of Journalists criticised proposed amendments to the Media Council Act, tabled on 9 May of that year, as having "wide reaching implications for press freedom in Nepal". The 2019 bill and the 2026 draft are different proposals, and we draw no direct comparison of their content; the earlier episode shows only that the question of a state role in media regulation has recurred.
The draft is open for public consultation. The Post did not report the deadline or the ministry handling submissions. Readers, including the diaspora media community, should look for the ministry's notice. Any bill would then require parliamentary approval before becoming law.
