Interim bail granted to journalist in India

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 12 June 2021

Shiv Pratap, a journalist, received anticipatory bail from the Allahabad High Court after being charged during the local panchayat elections. He claimed the charges stemmed from his reporting on electoral mismanagement.

Summary

ALLAHABAD —The Allahabad High Court has granted anticipatory bail to a journalist who was booked during the local panchayat elections in April.

Shiv Pratap, a reporter for Hindi newspaper Pratap Kiran, was covering the panchayat election at a booth in Utrash village in Pratapgarh district. However, an FIR was lodged at the Kandhai Police Station against him and some villagers due to their alleged involvement in destroying the ballot box and firing.

According to the journalist, he was targeted as he had reported through his Twitter handle about the mismanagement and irregularities in the polling booth by the authorities and influential people.

The counsel for the accused journalist also told the court that due to his coverage of the mismanagement, the authorities were annoyed with the journalist.

While granting him anticipatory bail, Justice Rajeev Singh observed, “... it is evident that mismanagement of the authorities was flashed on Twitter by the applicant No. 1 who is the journalist and other applicant is related to him, therefore, the applicants are entitled for interim bail.”

KEY POINTS:

• Interim bail granted to journalist Shiv Pratap by Allahabad High Court.
• Charges arose during coverage of local panchayat elections in Pratapgarh.
• FIR filed against journalist and villagers for alleged election misconduct.
• Journalist reported mismanagement on social media, leading to the backlash.
• Court acknowledged the reporting as a reason for targeting the journalist.