Within hours of the Supreme Court verdict not to implement its order to stop the transmission of the Radio Sagarmatha FM, the government on Tuesday has asked Radio Sagarmatha not to re-broadcast BBC Nepali Service and “programmes banned by the National Broadcast Act 2049 B. S.

Talking to Nepalnews, chairman of Radio Sagarmatha FM management committee, Laxman Upreti, said they received a fax from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) at 5:20 p.m. today asking the station resume its transmission and air programmes except BBC Nepali and other programmes banned by the law.

Upreti said Radio Sagarmatha has been re-broadcasting BBC Nepali Service for the last eight years with the permission from the government. In a notice, Radio Sagarmatha said it was studying the legality of the government’s latest order and would resort to legal treatment.

The radio station resumed its transmission Tuesday afternoon after the Supreme Court verdict.

A single bench comprising Justice Badri Kumar Basnet had ordered the government not to implement its order to stop the transmission of Radio Sagarmtha until next Wednesday when the hearings on the petition would continue.

Radio personnel were released later though the government is yet to return the equipment seized from the FM station. The government raided the station, seized its equipment and arrested four journalists and a technician Sunday night as it was re-broadcasting the BBC Nepali content aired from London. Interestingly, the FM had discontinued the re-broadcast as BBC Nepali was airing an exclusive interview with Maoist chairman, Prachanda.

The incident comes only a month after the government raided Kantipur FM—a leading private sector radio station and seized its equipment—alleging it of violating the controversial media ordinance. ( 29th Nov 05, nepalnews.com)