A court in Noida in the National Capital Region on Wednesday granted bail to three journalists arrested last week by Uttar Pradesh Police in a defamation case, PTI reported.
Nation Live chief Ishita Singh, and the news channel’s employees Anuj Shukla and Anshul Kaushik were arrested after the channel aired alleged defamatory content about Chief Minister Adityanath. They broadcast a video of a woman who claimed she wanted to marry Adityanath.
However, the journalists are still in jail as a case of fraud and forgery is pending against them, PTI reported. Singh and Shukla were arrested on June 8 and remanded to 14-day judicial custody. Kaushik was arrested two days later.
“Their plea for bail was taken up by the District and Sessions Court in Surajpur today,” said Station House Officer (Phase 3) Devendra Singh. “They have been granted bail in the first case. The hearing in the second is still to take place. They are still in the jail.”
Lawyer Nitin Gupta, representing Shukla and Kaushik, said the judge heard arguments in both cases on Tuesday and Wednesday. “After hearing the arguments yesterday, the judge granted bail to all three of them in his order today,” the advocate told PTI. “Due to some reasons the order on today’s hearing of the second case could not be made. It will be made tomorrow.”
Prashant Kanojia, a journalist from Delhi who had shared the video on Twitter, was also arrested after a case was filed against him for his comments about Adityanath on social media. The Supreme Court ordered his release on bail on June 12. A vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi passed the order on a habeas corpus petition filed by Kanojia’s wife. The judges said Kanojia’s arrest and remand were illegal, and resulted in “deprivation of personal liberty”.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!