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‘If messenger is killed…’: SC defends news anchor who interviewed Lawrence Bishnoi in jail
The Supreme Court on Friday protected from arrest the news anchor who interviewed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in jail.
The Supreme Court on Friday protected from arrest the news anchor from a private news channel who conducted a video interview of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The news anchor is currently facing a court-monitored SIT probe in the Bishnoi interview matter.
Lawrence Bishnoi, allegedly the mastermind of the 2022 Sidhu Moosewala murder, is also one of the accused in the firing incident outside the Mumbai residence of Bollywood actor Salman Khan. An SIT probe was launched after Bishnoi gave a video interview through a mobile phone to the news anchor while inside jail.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra observed that interviewing criminals inside jail shows a “serious breach of regulations,” irrespective of the intentions of the news anchor to expose the gangster.
“....at a certain level, perhaps your client seeking the interview may have breached certain regulations of the jail,” the court told the petitioner's counsel.
Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and RS Cheema, appearing for the news channel and the anchor, said that he is facing threats of life over the sting operation and submitted that he should not be arrested in the case.
Taking note of the submissions, the CJI said, “The second petitioner shall cooperate with the SIT investigation. We direct that pending further orders from this court, no coercive steps shall be taken against him.”
Read more: Accused says Lawrence Bishnoi's ‘character’ inspired firing at Salman Khan house
Observing that the interviews helped “expose the rot”, Rohatgi said the registration of the FIR against the journalist amounted to shooting the messenger. The fact that it can happen within a jail is also a very serious matter, he said. "If the messenger is killed, then who will expose the rot," the senior lawyer asked.
The sting operation conducted last year by the private news channel was aimed at showing how gangster Lawrence Bishnoi was in touch with Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar and was hatching a conspiracy to attack Salman Khan due to his involvement in the blackbuck shooting case.
In the interview, Bishnoi threatened Salman Khan and asked him to apologise to his community for shooting a blackbuck.
(With inputs from PTI)
