Supreme Court quashes sedition case against journalist Vinod Dua over his YouTube show
A bench of Justices UU Lalit and Vineet Saran had reserved the judgment on October 6, 2020, after hearing arguments for Dua, Himachal Pradesh government and the complainant in the case.
FollowThe Supreme Court Thursday quashed the sedition case registered against journalist Vinod Dua in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, news agency ANI reported. The case was filed against Dua by a local BJP leader in Himachal Pradesh over his YouTube show.
The verdict was delivered by a Bench of Justices UU Lalit and Vineet Saran.
"We have quashed the proceedings and FIR. Every journalist will be entitled to the protection under Kedar Nath Singh (sedition) judgment," the Court ordered.
A bench of Justices UU Lalit and Vineet Saran had reserved the judgment on October 6, 2020, after hearing arguments for Dua, Himachal Pradesh government and the complainant in the case.
On July 20 last year, the top court had extended till further orders the protection granted to Dua from any coercive action in the case.
Dua was accused of having made certain statements on his YouTube program, 'Vinod Dua show'.
The statements in the episode streamed on March 30, 2020 were capable of inciting communal hatred and led to breach of peace and communal disharmony, it was alleged.
The complaint against Dua was filed by a BJP leader. The senior journalist was accused of spreading fake news. Besides sedition, the other charges include causing public nuisance, printing of defamatory matter and making statements conducive to public mischief.
Dua was charged under sections 124A (sedition), 268 (public nuisance), 501 (printing matter known to be defamatory) and 505 (statements conducive to public mischief) on the basis of a complaint by BJP’s Mahasu unit president Ajay Shyam. The BJP leader claimed that Dua made bizarre allegations on his 15-minute YouTube show on March 30.
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