New Delhi, April 21 (). The Supreme Court on Friday granted protection from coercive action to the editor and owner of a news portal facing charges of spreading fake news regarding the attack on migrants from Bihar in Tamil Nadu.
Chief Justice D.Y. “We direct that no coercive action shall be taken against him for four weeks,” Chandrachud said.
However, a division bench comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha refused to entertain the plea to quash the FIR lodged in Tamil Nadu, saying the editors and owners of the OpIndia portal can approach the Madras High Court for relief.
The petitioners argued that the portal published the report on the basis of a news item published by a newspaper but when it was found to be incorrect, it was retracted.
During the hearing, the bench asked senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, representing the petitioners, how can the court quash the FIR under Article 32? It asked Jethmalani to approach the Madras High Court.
When Jethmalani said that in some cases FIRs have also been quashed under Article 32, the bench replied that it depends on the facts and circumstances of each case. Jethmalani then urged the court to grant protection from arrest to the petitioners till they appeal to the High Court.
The FIR was registered in Tamil Nadu in connection with an allegation that a news portal allegedly carried fake news about migrant workers from Bihar being attacked in Tamil Nadu.
Jethmalani was represented by Nupur J Sharma and Rahul Roshan of the news portal.
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