India News

Supreme Court orders immediate release of journalist Prashant Kanojia, pulls up UP Police

Published

7 years ago

June 11, 2019

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Supreme Court today (Tuesday, June 11) ordered immediate release of journalist Prashant Kanojia, pulling up Uttar Pradesh (UP) police and the State of Uttar Pradesh for arresting him for tweeting against UP chief minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath.

The Court also made it clear that its order should not be seen as approval of Kanojia’s social media posts.

A vacation bench of the Supreme Court,comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi, was hearing a Habeas Corpus petition yesterday by Kanojia’s wifeJagisha Arora, challenging his arrest on Saturday.

The Bench said “liberty of a citizen is sacrosanct and non-negotiable” and that “it is guaranteed by the constitution and it cannot be infringed”.

“Normally we don’t entertain these type of petitions. But a person can’t spend 11 days in jail,” the Supreme Court said.

“It is made clear this order is not construed as an approval of tweets,” the Supreme Court said.

Granting bail to Kanojia, the court said Right to Liberty, a fundamental right, is non-negotiable. “We may disapprove these tweets but we disapprove the denial of liberty,” the top court said.

Justice Banerjee asked how an arrest could be made over tweets, to which the public prosecutor replied that Kanojia had made provocative tweets against gods and religion on previous occasions and therefore offence of public mischief under Section 505 of IPC was added in the list of charges.

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Expressing dissatisfaction over the prosecutor’s remarks, the bench said that the Magistrate’s order of remanding Kanojia till June 22 was “not appropriate”.

Making some strong remarks against UP police and State of Uttar Pradesh, the court also turned down the submission of the State that the petitioner should approach the lower court or High Court for bail.

When the hearing began, Additional Solicitor General Vikramajit Banerjee appearing for Uttar Pradesh submitted that the remand order has been passed by the Judicial Magistrate and hence, Article 32 petition should not be entertained.

“Arrest? A citizen’s right to liberty has been infringed. We have gone through the records… These sort of tweets should not be made, but arrest?”, asked Justice Indira Banerjee.

Expressing shock at the 11 days’ remand for Kanojia, “June 22? He’s remanded for 11 days?” asked Justice Rastogi.

“Is this a murder charge?” demanded Justice Banerjee.

ASG argued that the challenge to the same has to be made in a lower court or High Court.

The court rejected the argument saying that the liberties under the Constitution are sacrosanct and the Court cannot shy away when “something is so glaring”.

“Court does not ordinarily entertain A.32 but the Article is there in Constitution for those whose freedom is affected. When something is so glaring, can court hold its hands and say go to High Court?”, asked Justice Banerjee.

Both the judges took exception to the incarceration of the Kanojia while also stating that what he tweeted might not have been appropriate.

“The Court need not comment on the contents of the tweets. The question is, should the petitioner have been deprived of his liberty over them. The answer to that is prima facie in the negative. Fundamental rights under Article 19 and 21 are non-negotiable.”

The Court, however, also made it clear that the State can proceed against Kanojia in accordance with law.

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“I believe in Constitution. I have fought this case. I am happy,” a visibly tired Jagisha Arora told reporters outside the Supreme Court, soon after the hearing.

Prashant Kanojia, a freelance journalist, was arrested by UP police in Delhi on Saturday for a tweet that had “objectionable comments” on Yogi Adityanath. He had shared a video on Twitter and Facebook where a woman is seen speaking to reporters of various media organisations outside Yogi Adityanath’s office, claiming that she had sent him a marriage proposal.

An FIR was lodged against Kanojia at Lucknow’s Hazratganj police station under Sections 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 500 (defamation) of the IPC, and Section 67 of IT Act (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) on a complaint filed by Sub-Inspector Vikas Kumar.

The same evening, the head of a private news channel and its editor were arrested in Noida. During a debate on the channel on June 6, the woman, whose video was shared by Prashant Kanojia, had allegedly made defamatory statements against Yogi Adityanath, the police said.

Two more people were arrested in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, the Chief Minister’s stronghold, on Sunday evening. According to a tweet by police, one man was arrested after a complaint against him was received on Twitter. He was arrested for posting “objectionable content” about the BJP leader.

The arrests over the weekend sparked a huge debate on social media on freedom of expression in the country, with the Editors Guild of India terming the journalists’ arrests “high-handed and arbitrary´ and amounting to “authoritarian misuse of laws”.

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Yogi Adityanath takes a dig at Akhilesh Yadav over Ram Temple visit plan

Yogi Adityanath’s remarks came after the Samajwadi Party announced that Akhilesh Yadav would visit the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on December 12.

Published

10 hours ago

November 7, 2026

APNLive Desk

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday took an apparent swipe at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over his planned visit to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, saying those who had fired on Ram devotees should first apologise to them and to the saints.

Yogi made the remarks while addressing the 10th edition of Deepotsav in Ayodhya. He did not name Akhilesh Yadav directly.

Yogi’s remarks come after Akhilesh’s Ayodhya visit plan

The chief minister’s comments came after the Samajwadi Party announced that Akhilesh Yadav would visit the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on December 12. It would be his first visit to the temple since its inauguration, according to the report.

Yogi said those who had earlier neglected and insulted Ayodhya, opened fire on Ram devotees and subjected saints to lathicharge should come to the city only after seeking forgiveness.

“Let them apologise to the devotees of Lord Ram; let them apologise to the saints,” Yogi said, adding that they should repent for their past actions.

Reference to 1990 firing on kar sevaks

Yogi’s remarks referred to the 1990 police firing on kar sevaks during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. At the time, the Uttar Pradesh government was headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav’s father.

The chief minister said those who had once “bloodied” Ayodhya were now remembering the city. He also criticised political leaders over their conduct at religious gatherings, referring to the decorum of a katha.

Akhilesh has not yet visited the Ram Temple

Akhilesh Yadav has visited Ayodhya earlier but has not so far visited the Ram Temple. The SP leader was in the city on October 8 to attend a Bhagwat Katha organised by party leader Pawan Pandey.

According to the report, Akhilesh and his wife, Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav, are scheduled to offer prayers at the Ram Temple and Hanumangarhi on December 12.

The planned visit comes amid political activity in Ayodhya ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections due by February 2027.

Yogi highlights Ayodhya’s transformation

During his Deepotsav address, Yogi also spoke about the changes in Ayodhya and described the city’s transformation as an ideological victory.

He said those who had previously neglected Ayodhya were now witnessing its development. He also said Lord Ram represented India’s national consciousness, culture, values and self-respect.

The chief minister further recalled the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and said Ayodhya had regained the glory for which kar sevaks and saints had struggled.

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Ahead of Diwali, Yogi govt hikes DA by 5% for UP government staff

The Uttar Pradesh government has increased Dearness Allowance by 5 percentage points, taking it from 58% to 63%. The revised rate will benefit lakhs of eligible employees ahead of Diwali.

Published

10 hours ago

November 7, 2026

APNLive Desk

The Uttar Pradesh government has announced a 5 per cent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees ahead of Diwali. With this revision, the DA rate has increased from 58 per cent to 63 per cent, providing financial relief to lakhs of eligible employees across the state.

The revised allowance will be effective from July 1, 2026, according to the government announcement. A government order was also issued on Saturday, November 7.

The enhanced DA will be paid along with employees’ regular November 2026 salaries.

Which employees will benefit from the DA hike?

The decision covers regular state government employees and several other categories of eligible staff.

These include employees of aided educational and technical institutions, regular and full-time employees of urban local bodies, work-charged employees and personnel drawing salaries under University Grants Commission (UGC) pay scales.

The revision is expected to benefit a large section of the Uttar Pradesh workforce ahead of the festive season.

What happens to the DA arrears?

The revised DA rate will apply retrospectively from July 1, 2026. Consequently, employees will also be entitled to arrears for the period preceding the November salary payment.

The government has made provisions for the payment of the arrears for July to October 2026. These amounts will be credited to employees’ provident fund accounts, according to the reported payment arrangements.

The enhanced allowance for November will be reflected in the regular salary for that month.

The decision comes ahead of Diwali and will provide additional financial relief to eligible government employees in Uttar Pradesh.

India News

Himanta Sarma to approach court over threat to gherao home in Zubeen case

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said his government would approach the Supreme Court and Gauhati High Court over a threat to gherao his residence if two prime accused in the Zubeen Garg death case are granted bail.

Published

13 hours ago

November 7, 2026

APNLive Desk

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the state government would bring before the Supreme Court and Gauhati High Court a threat by a group to gherao his residence in connection with the Zubeen Garg death case.

Speaking to reporters, Sarma described the threat as a serious matter, saying it posed a danger to his family and could amount to a direct attempt to murder.

The development comes ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on November 30 of the bail petitions filed by Shyamkanu Mahanta and Siddhartha Sharma, the two prime accused in the case.

Why Himanta Sarma plans to approach the courts

Sarma said he had instructed the state government’s legal department to bring the matter to the notice of both the Supreme Court and Gauhati High Court.

The Chief Minister objected to the group threatening to target his residence rather than holding a protest near the Chief Minister’s Office.

He said those questioning the judicial process should approach the Supreme Court or the high court instead of targeting him. Sarma also maintained that the courts should be allowed to carry out their work.

According to him, attempts to question the judicial process in this manner could obstruct the path of justice.

What the group said about the bail pleas

The Zubeen Garg Nyay Samiti, led by Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi, had announced on Thursday that it would gherao the Chief Minister’s residence under certain circumstances.

The group said it would carry out the protest if Shyamkanu Mahanta and Siddhartha Sharma were granted bail or if the Assam government failed to mount an effective legal opposition to their bail pleas.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the bail petitions of the two accused on November 30.

Bail granted to two accused in the case

The Gauhati High Court granted bail to singer Amritprava Mahanta, an accused in the Zubeen Garg death case, on October 9. She was granted bail against a bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of the same amount.

The high court has also granted bail to Sandipan Garg in the case.

Referring to the bail order concerning Amritprava Mahanta, Sarma said it mentioned that 160 witnesses had not named her during the court hearing, despite having done so during the investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Responding to questions over the development, Sarma said the witnesses should be questioned about the discrepancy rather than him.

What happened to Zubeen Garg?

Singer Zubeen Garg died in Singapore on September 19 last year while swimming in the sea.

Police in Singapore had said that no foul play was involved in his death. Garg had travelled to Singapore to attend the fourth edition of the North East India Festival (NEIF).