Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday granted provisional bail to journalist Bhawana Kishore
Posted Date – 07:30 AM, Sun – 5/7/23
Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday granted provisional bail to journalist Bhawana Kishore
Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday granted provisional bail to journalist Bhawana Kishore, a day after she and two others were arrested by Punjab police after their vehicle allegedly hit a woman, injuring her hand.
Several journalist groups condemned the police action after the TV reporter was registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and was “detained” alongside reckless driving charges.
The Editors’ Guild said the FIR registered against the journalist at the Ludhiana police station “appeared excessive and rushed”.
In a statement, Times Now Navbharat claimed that its reporter Kishore, photographer Mrityunjay and a driver were arrested by Ludhiana police after a series of “well-planned incidents” on charges of “reckless driving and insulting Dalits”. “.
The media organization also claimed that Kishore was detained without any female police officers in the car, and that she was denied legal and telephone access and was arrested after sunset.
The journalist has applied to the High Court to set aside the FIR.
Kishore’s lawyer, Chetan Mittal, said the court had granted her provisional bail and set May 8 as the next hearing date.
The TV reporter and two others were arrested in Ludhiana on Friday after their vehicle allegedly hit a woman, injuring her hand, Punjab police said. They were also accused of using derogatory language towards the complainant.
In a statement, the TV channel said it had been invited to cover the AAP political show in Ludhiana hosted by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwat Mann.
It claimed a group of women riding in electric rickshaws rammed their vehicles into a reporter’s car and got into an altercation, adding that it had reason to believe the women were “active AAP workers”.
It claimed that it was harassed for reporting on spending on renovations at the Kejriwal mansion.
However, AAP leader Atishi said no one is above the law and the Punjab police must take the strongest possible action. She said the matter should be left to the courts.
The Editors’ Guild of India said law enforcement agencies should exercise due restraint in the detention and subsequent filing of the FIR given the journalists’ mission.
“EGI urges Punjab govt to release detained journalists and instructs its police to follow
established procedure,” the guild said.
Times Now Navbharat said in its statement that the male police officers accompanying Bhavana were not wearing name tags, which are mandatory for duty.
“This is not only a blatant abuse of the state apparatus for vendetta, but also an abuse and disrespect of the SC/ST Act, which was wrongly invoked without any basis for intimidation. Times Network is seeking legal recourse and cooperating with the investigating authorities,” the media said agency said.
The Indian Women’s Press Corps (IWPC), National Union of Journalists (India) and Press Club of India (PCI) condemned the arrest of the reporter, her photographer and their car driver.
“The IWPC demands immediate relief for young journalists, photographers and drivers,” it said in a statement.
“As the female police officers were not present when the journalists were detained, we urge the authorities to take severe action against erring officers who did not follow the norms police officers should follow when arresting women,” the IWPC said.
PCI called the journalist’s arrest a “blatant attack on the rights of journalists”.
“We demand that the Punjab Police immediately drop the false and improper charges against her and seek the intervention of the Chief Minister of Punjab in the matter,” it said.
The South Asian Women in Media Association also called for an investigation into the matter and for the immediate release of the journalists.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the Punjab police action was a “direct attack on the fourth estate” and a “new low” for the country’s democratic values.
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit discussed the issue with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday and said such incidents “do not give good news” about the state, official sources said.
The governor called Mann to express his thoughts on the reporter’s arrest, they said.
He also urged the chief minister to release the journalist.
