The wife of journalist Prashant Kanojia, who was arrested from Delhi for his comments about Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on social media, on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking his release, reported Bar and Bench. The court will hear the matter on Tuesday.
The petition claims the arrest is illegal because necessary legal guidelines were not followed. “Kanojia was unceremoniously arrested by the UP police and it is illegal,” her lawyer told the court, requesting a hearing on Monday itself.
A first information report was registered against Kanojia by a sub-inspector at Hazratganj police station on Friday night alleging that the accused made comments “maligning the image of the chief minister”. The case was filed under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, which relates to punishment for defamation, and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, which refers to computer-related offences.
A press statement released by the police on Saturday additionally mentioned Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, which relates to publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form, and Section 505 of the IPC, which penalises statements conducing to public mischief.
In the video that Kanojia shared, a woman is seen speaking to reporters outside the chief minister’s office claiming that she had been talking to Adityanath over video chat and had sent a marriage proposal to him. Kanojia was a former journalist at The Wire Hindi.
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