SC protects Siddharth Varadarajan & Karan Thapar from arrest by Assam cops
While protecting the journalists, SC said everyone was expected to follow the law and asked the journalists to join the investigation and file a status report on the next date of hearing.
PTI
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Senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan appeared for the journalists.
New Delhi, 22 Aug
The Supreme Court on Friday protected from arrest The Wire’s
Founding Editor Siddharth Varadarajan and Consulting Editor Karan Thapar in
connection with an FIR registered by Assam Police against them over a news
article.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi
passed the order on a plea filed by the Foundation for Independent Journalism
(FIJ), which owns The Wire along with Varadarajan.
Senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for the
journalists, said Assam Police was circumventing the orders passed by the
court.
She argued that, despite the court's order granting interim
protection in an FIR by Morigaon Police, summons were issued to the journalists
in another case filed by the Guwahati Crime Branch.
The senior lawyer said the journalists were summoned on
Friday for recording statements in an old FIR lodged in May and they
apprehended they might be arrested.
When she said there could be further FIRs and threat of
arrest, the bench tried to allay her apprehension saying, "We are
watching".
The bench, while protecting the journalists, said everyone
was expected to follow the law and asked the journalists to join the
investigation and file a status report on the next date of hearing.
On 12 August, the top court protected Vardarajan and
restrained Assam Police from taking any coercive action against him in
connection with an FIR lodged against him over an article on Operation Sindoor.
On 9 May, the first FIR was registered by the Guwahati Crime
Branch against Varadarajan and Thapar under Section 152 (acts endangering sovereignty,
unity and integrity of India) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The FIR listed 14
interviews and articles as against the sovereignty and integrity of India.
There was no further action on this FIR till 12 August.
On 11 July, Morigaon police station registered another FIR
under Section 152 of the BNS against Varadrajan and The Wire for a story run on
28 June about the Indian defence attache’s statement about the loss of Indian
aircraft in Sindoor.
The top court granted ‘The Wire’ and others the protection
from coercive action in the 11 July FIR registered at the Morigaon police
station.
Later, the Crime Branch summoned the journalists in
connection with the earlier FIR lodged on 9 May. The top court also granted
protection to the journalists and the news portal in this case as well on
Friday.
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