Himalayan Times blacklisted by Press Council for writing fake news against Nirmal Purja

Kathmandu - Press Council Nepal has blacklisted The Himalayan Times, citing violations of the code of conduct.

According to a statement issued by Monitoring Officer Mahendra Raj Singh, The Himalayan Times has been placed on the blacklist, and actions such as excluding it from the evaluation and classification process, depriving it of welfare advertisements and other benefits, and recommending concerned authorities to withhold any government or public sector advertisements or facilities are being considered. The newspaper has also been asked to submit an explanation within three days.

The issue arose from a complaint filed on Jestha 14, 2081 BS (May 27, 2024), regarding content published by The Himalayan Times Daily and thehimalayantimes.com that linked Himalayan Adventures Pvt. Ltd. and Nirmal Purja ('Nimsdai'). In response, the Council had sent a letter on Jestha 18, 2081 BS (May 31, 2024), asking the newspaper to publish the rebuttal from the complainant or provide valid reasons for not doing so.

The newspaper later stated in its reply on Ashadh 10, 2081 BS (June 24, 2024) that its follow-up news on May 19, 2024, was based on a letter from Elite Exped and that it had included the rebuttal. However, the complainant later claimed that the news had misrepresented the intention of Elite Exped’s letter and altered its meaning, making it misleading.

Following further investigation, the Council instructed the media house on Bhadra 11, 2081 BS (August 27, 2024) to publish specific points of the rebuttal but received no response. Despite repeated follow-ups, The Himalayan Times did not comply, leading to the issuance of a clarification notice on Bhadra 27, 2081 BS (September 12, 2024). The newspaper eventually submitted a response on Ashoj 11, 2081 BS (September 27, 2024), stating that a rebuttal titled "Purja denies any wrongdoing in Aussie climber's case" had been published in its September 23, 2024 edition. However, upon review, the Council found that while the complainant’s response had been partially included, it had also been countered with statements from Gilmore, thereby undermining the rebuttal.

Furthermore, the complainant submitted an 18-page response on Ashoj 13, 2081 BS (September 29, 2024), denying all allegations made in the news article. After further investigation, a task force was formed, which concluded that The Himalayan Times had violated journalistic ethics by publishing biased, unbalanced, and potentially discriminatory news.

Based on these findings, a meeting on Falgun 8, 2081 BS (February 20, 2025) determined that the media outlet had violated Journalist Code of Conduct, 2073 BS (First Amendment, 2076 BS), particularly sections 4(3)(1), 4(6)(1), and 5(2). As a result, The Himalayan Times Daily and thehimalayantimes.com were deemed to have defied the code under section 7(1)(j) and were subsequently blacklisted by Press Council Nepal.