The Attorney General is seeking permission to bring contempt proceedings against Sky News over their coverage on the day kidnapped British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler were freed.
The channel is alleged to have breached an injunction prohibiting the media from publishing details of the "health and welfare" of the couple - kidnapped by Somali pirates - until they were outside the African country and in a place of safety.
They were kept captive for 13 months before being freed on November 14 last year.
Armed raiders boarded their 38ft yacht, Lynn Rival, as they sailed from the Seychelles to Tanzania in dangerous waters.
The retired pair, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, were released after a ransom of up to one million dollars (£620,000) was paid.
A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said Sky News is accused of breaching the injunction on the day of the couple's release.
The Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC, will seek permission at the High Court on Monday to bring contempt proceedings.