New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday restrained Tripura police from arresting lawyers Mukesh Kumar, Ansarul Haq Ansari & journalist Shyam Meera Singh, booked under UAPA, over their social media posts regarding recent communal violence in Tripura.
Subsequently, it also issued a notice to Tripura Police on the plea challenging Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act invoked against lawyers Mukesh Kumar, Ansarul Haq Ansari & journalist Shyam Meera Singh. Along with Journalist Ms Singh, advocates Ansar Indori and Mukesh also submitted a plea to the SC. As per information given in, Ansar Indori and Mukesh courted as an independent fact-finding team who visited Tripura post violence.
The plea sought a court-monitored probe, a declaration that read “some parts of the UAPA are unconstitutional, and argues that states being allowed to use UAPA to criminalise fact-finding will lead to a “chilling effect” on freedom of speech, and “only facts convenient to the government will come out”.
Earlier on Tuesday, the PCI demanded the case lodged against two women journalists be nullified. An FIR was filed against the journalist and several other who were accused of criminal conspiracy and forgery to spreading “fake news”. Castigating the police action against the journalists, the Press Club of India also urged the National Human Rights Commision (NHRC) to take into account the human rights violation by Tripura police in detaining those from press
Journalists Samriddhi Sakunia and Swarna Jha from HW News Network, were detianed by Assam police on Sunday and finally arrested on Monday on charges of posting inflammatory and fake news on social media.