The case against the journalists was filed by Amit Malviya of the BJP.
New Delhi:
A sessions court here has dismissed an appeal by Delhi Police against an order for release of seized electronic devices of five editors of news portal The Wire in connection with an FIR, saying it would cause serious damage to the ‘foundations of democracy’ as the press, the fourth pillar, is not allowed to function independently.
The city police had filed a review petition against the September 23 magisterial court order asking them to release seized electronic devices from Siddharth Varadarajan, Siddharth Bhatia, Jahnavi Sen, MK Venu and Mithun Kidambi.
In October last year, the police had filed an FIR against the portal and its editors following a complaint by BJP leader Amit Malviya, in which he accused the media of “cheating and forgery” and “tarnishing” his reputation.
Dismissing the review petition filed by the city police, Justice Pawan Singh Rajawat said the impugned order of the magisterial court did not decide any justice and only allowed ‘interim custody’ of the devices until the conclusion of investigation or disposal of the devices. case.
“The press is considered the fourth pillar of our great democracy and if it is not allowed to function and operate independently, it would seriously damage the foundations of our democracy,” the hearing court said.
Dismissing the petition as ‘not maintainable’, the sessions court said the order passed by the magistrate was ‘purely interlocutory in nature’ and no revision would go against the same.
“By the continued seizure of electronic devices of the respondents (portal and its editors), the investigating agency is not only causing unnecessary hardship to them but also infringing on their fundamental right to freedom of occupation, profession, trade or business as guaranteed in Article 19(1)(g) as well as the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution as while the respondents work for the news portal – The Wire – which is engaged in disseminating news and information and the electronic devices were used for their work,” the report said.
It found no fault in the magisterial court’s order and said it not only safeguarded the interests of the journalists but also ensured that they kept the devices safe.
Rejecting the Delhi Police’s arguments, the judge said the bail order was issued after noticing that the devices were mirror-imaged and their custody was no longer necessary.
The city police crime branch had registered an FIR against Mr Varadarajan, Mr Bhatia, Ms Sen, Mr Venu and Mr Kidambi under sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 469 (forgery with the purpose of damaging reputation) of the Indian Penal Code. ), 471 (using forged documents), 500 (defamation), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (general intention), along with the provisions of the Information Technology Act.
The stories were retracted by the news portal.
Mr Malviya had said that The Wire’s reports alleged that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, regularly colluded with members of the BJP in removing content deemed unfavorable to the party.
Even after Meta issued a categorical denial saying that the documents shown by the portal were “fabricated” and that the “Xcheck” status, the privilege allegedly granted to him, had been mischaracterized, The Wire instead to pause reporting and conduct an internal audit went ahead with publishing another “malicious” report, he had said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
