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SC to hear TV anchor’s plea for clubbing cases over misleading Rahul Gandhi video
Cases have been filed against Zee News anchor Rohit Ranjan in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Thursday hear Zee News anchor Rohit Ranjan’s plea seeking clubbing of multiple cases lodged against him for presenting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on the vandalisation of his office in Kerala in June as his statement on a tailor’s murder in Udaipur last week.
The anchor is facing cases in Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The channel has apologised for the misrepresentation.
A vacation bench of justices Indira Banerjee and J K Maheshwari allowed the listing of the petition in the top court after senior advocate Sidharth Luthra mentioned it on Wednesday. Luthra pointed out that Ranjan has already apologised for the misrepresentation and that the show was also taken off the air.
“He (Ranjan) is presently in the custody of Noida Police and Chhattisgarh Police are now wanting to arrest him. This requires urgent consideration as multiple first information reports (FIRs) are being filed against him,” he added.
Gandhi last month called the SFI activists who vandalised his office “children” and said he did not have any anger towards them. The channel, however, aired the comment as the Congress leader’s remarks towards the accused in the brutal killing of a Hindu tailor by two Muslim men in Udaipur.
On Tuesday, the Noida Police arrested Ranjan in connection with a case filed against him – a move that came after a team of Chhattisgarh Police attempted to arrest the journalist in a similar case. A minor scuffle also broke out between the two sides.
Ranjan was arrested and later released on bail, Noida Police had said in a statement, adding that the sections against him are bailable offences.
In his plea in the top court, the journalist maintained that his error was unintentional and at best, is covered under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and Programming Rules
“Therefore, when there is a special law dealing with the issues in question, there is no question to invoke the criminal statute or registration…,” he said.
Ranjan also called the cases against him as false, vindictive, frivolous, malicious and filed with the sole purpose to coerce, harass and intimidate him. The cases are an attempt to muzzle the voice of the media as part of a well-coordinated and malicious campaign, he said.
Ranjan’s plea, however, was in the process of being filed when the matter was mentioned. Expressing displeasure over this, the judges said: “You should have some responsibility while instructing your senior advocate. We have to take a strong view...”
Luthra later reappeared in the court and apologised for the mistake. Shortly after noon, the matter was registered and ready for listing.
The petition has made the Union home ministry, governments of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan as respondents in the case.
