The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the arrest of Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor and six journalists, including Rajdeep Sardesai, in criminal cases lodged against them for reporting misleading information on the violence that took place during farmers tractor rally on January 26.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian has put out a notice on the appeals filed by Tharoor, other journalists to nullify the FIRs registered against them for "spreading disharmony" over Tweets on the death of a protester that said he was shot dead by the police.
The stay on the arrest will continue till the next date of hearing, after two weeks, said the top court, issuing notices to Delhi Police and Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana where cases have been lodged.
The other journalists named in the FIRs are Mrinal Pande, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath and Anand Nath.
Opposing the stay, the Delhi police said, "We will show the horrendous effect these tweets have had. These Twitter handles have lakhs of followers," Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for Delhi Police.”
Tharoor was represented by Kapil Sibal, who said that interim protection was needed as the Congress leader is in Delhi and the charge is serious. "The investigating agency can arrest me anytime," Sibal said.
The top court bench asked Mehta, "We will hear you. But are you going to arrest him?" Mehta replied, "We know our responsibility." He assured that he will convey the assurance to other states.
But the bench noted that Mehta was representing just the Delhi Police. "Issue notice. Stay of arrest in the meantime. List after two weeks," said the bench also comprising Justice AS Bopanna and Justice V Ramasubramanian.
On January 30, a case was registered against Tharoor, Sardesai, Vinod Jose and others for spreading wrong information and misreporting in Noida by a resident, then, later in Gurugram, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh under sedition charges under the provisions of promoting enmity, making assertions prejudicial to national integration under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), among other provisions under the Information Technology Act. Following the incident, India Today had even suspended Sardesai and cut off his one month salary.
Challenging the cases in the SC, Tharoor and Sardesai appealed for revoking the criminal cases, seeking protection of their fundamental right to free speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The claimed that the sedition cases against them are malafide action which is politically motivated, citing the contents of the FIRs are similar. The other journalists named in the FIRs have also urged the top court to cancel the cases calling them “frivolous”.
The FIRs were registered over Tweets and on reports on the disorder that happened on farmers' proposed tractor march on Republic Day as a sign to intensify their demands against the three farm laws. The farmers have been protesting against the farm bills claiming that they will make them vulnerable before the corporates and reduce their profits.