The Bagmati Regional Labour Office, Teku, on July 16, 2012, asked the Chairman of Utsarga Publications, Mahendra Sherchan to present himself before the Office on July 19 and pay the amount to journalist Ram Prasad Dahal whom he sacked illegally in March 2005, or face the Labour Court decision of two months' jail and Rs 5,000 as fine. Similarly, journalist Dahal has also asked to come to the Office the same day with the claim of the money he is to get from Sherchan. Earlier, on May 30, 2012, journalist Dahal was denied wage and restoration on in the daily as per the Labour Court decision. Mr Dahal had said the administration only focused on restoration in the daily rather than giving wage together. The administrative staff spoke in a threatening way to join office. As a result, he had to return empty handed. Before this, the Labour Court, Kathmandu, on April 12, 2012, ordered Mahendra Sherchan, Chairman of Utsarga Publications Pvt Ltd. to provide the salary to the journalist, Ram Prasad Dahal whom he sacked illegally on March 2, 2005 from the Rajdhani national daily, restore him and inform the court about his restoration in the daily.
Freedom Forum is a prominent non-governmental organization in Nepal dedicated to institutionalizing democracy, protecting and promoting human rights, press freedom, freedom of expression, right to information, promoting audit accountability, open and accountable budget, public finance reforms, citizen engagement in public finance management and citizen participation in audit. Established in February 2005, the organization emerged in response to the political turmoil following Former King Gyanendra’s coup dated February 1, 2005, which imposed severe restrictions on media and democratic rights. A group of media professionals, legal experts, and academics founded Freedom Forum to safeguard Nepal’s hard-earned democratic freedoms during this repressive period.
