In a blow to the Yogi Adityanath government, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to arrested journalist Prashant Kanojia and ordered his immediate release.
Kanojia, a freelance journalist, was arrested from his home in Delhi on Saturday for sharing a video clip on social media of a woman claiming to have sent a marriage proposal to Adityanath. Kanojia's wife had filed a plea in the Supreme Court on Monday against his arrest.
Taking up the plea, the Supreme Court noted the case against Kanojia was not murder. The Vacation Bench of Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Ajay Rastogi noted that they may not agree with Kanojia's tweets, but asked whether he should be put behind bars for it.
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Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee, who was arguing for the Uttar Pradesh government, noted that the order to release Kanojia would be seen as an “endorsement” of his tweets to which Justice Banerjee replied it was “endorsement of his personal liberty”. Justice Banerjee emphasised liberty is guaranteed by the Constitution and the fundamental rights were sacrosanct and non-negotiable.
The Supreme Court noted that the Uttar Pradesh government was free to initiate proceedings against Kanojia under law.
