Journalist Dilbhusan Pathak has filed a writ petition in the Patan High Court seeking an interim order to stop the arrest warrant issued against him.

On Monday, Pathak submitted the petition demanding a halt to the arrest permission granted by the Kathmandu District Court at the request of the Cyber Bureau. According to the High Court administration, the hearing on his petition has been scheduled before a single bench of Judge Rishi Raj Bhandari.

The arrest warrant against Pathak was issued after he broadcast content through his YouTube channel alleging that Jaiveer, the son of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, had purchased the Hilton Hotel.

Based on Jaiveer’s complaint, which claimed that Pathak had uploaded content on YouTube with the intent to defame him by making baseless and fabricated allegations, the arrest warrant was issued under charges of cybercrime.

Members of the press community have called for the immediate suspension of the arrest warrant against Pathak and for the creation of an environment that allows him to practice journalism freely.