Arundhati Roy loses appeal, asked to appear before Bombay HC

‘Why are you afraid of facing the court? Have faith in it,’ the apex court said while rejecting the Booker winner’s appeal.

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to exempt writer Arundhati Roy from appearing before a court in connection with an article she wrote criticising the judiciary for not giving bail to G Saibaba, a Delhi University professor accused of supporting Maoists.

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to exempt writer Arundhati Roy from appearing before a court in connection with an article she wrote criticising the judiciary for not giving bail to G Saibaba (PTI)

“Why are you afraid of facing the court? Have faith in it,” the apex court said while rejecting Roy’s appeal against the Bombay High Court order’s asking her to appear before it next week. The apex court also issued a notice to the Maharashtra state on her petition challenging the contempt proceedings.

The court also issued a notice to Maharashtra on Saibaba’s appeal against his interim bail being cancelled.

Saibaba was arrested last year and his bail was extended till December 31. Roy had expressed her views on Saibaba’s arrest in an article published in a May 2015 issue of the Outlook magazine.