Wife of the arrested journo Prashant approaches Supreme Court for her husband’s release

The arbitrary arrests of journalists Prashan Kanojia, channel head of Nation Live, Ishika Singh and editor Anuj Shukla by the Noida police on various charges under section 500 of the IPC and section 66 of the Information Technology Act and for illegally running the channel without licence etc has badly annoyed the journalistic fraternity in Delhi and other parts of the country with several media organisations like Press Club of India, Editors Guild of India, Indian Women’s Press Corps, South Association Women in the Media Press Association etc holding a mass protest and march at Press Club of India premises today criticizing the police action as authoritarian misuse of the laws and an arbitrary exercise to muzzle the press freedom and free speech.

A good number of journalists from print and electronics media under the leadership of four organisations raising anti UP govt and chief minister Yogi Adityanath n police slogans demanded immediate withdrawal of false charges against the three arrested journalists and their subsequent release.

The senior leader of the Congress party and its chief spokesman Abhishekh Manu Sighvi termed the police action as illegal and miscarriage of justice.

In a tweet Congress leader Singhvi urged the Allahabad High Court to take suo motto cognisance of the matter.

He tweeted that the detention of Prashan Kanojia for posting a vedio which fell foul of actors of state government is illegal and miscarriage of justice.

Meanwhile, the police has also sealed the Noida Studio of Nation Live on the charge of running it without a licence saying that it was given the licence to run New Network 10, not the Nation Live.

The media unity on this incident has been phenomenal all over the country with every organisation expressing their severe outrage over these arbitrary arrests.

It may be recalled that journalist Prashant Kanojia has shared a Kanpur based woman’s video in the social networking site a week before who had made certain allegations against the UP CM considered to be malafide and baseless as claimed by the police.

The vedio became viral in the social media within no time allegedly affecting the reputation of the UP CM.

The UP administration and the higher ups took it seriously and the Senior Suprintendent of Police Kalanidhi Naithani ordered the probe into the whole episode.

As a result Prashant Kanojia was arrested from his house in Delhi with FIR registered against him under section 505 of Indian Penal Code and section 66 of the Information Technology act.

The order for the arrests of Ishika Singh and Shukla including sealing of the Noida premises of Nation Live were issued there after by the Noida City Magistrate Shailendra Mishra.

The order says that the premises of Nation Live would remain closed ( sealed)for another two months.

News channel head Ishika Singh and Editor Shukla has been charged for continuously airing the news without corroborating the facts of the story or evidence whether the charges levelled by the women are correct or not. The erring woman has also been arrested.

The Editors Guild of India termed the police action in arresting these journalists as high handed , arbitrary and the one amounting to an arbitrary misuse of laws.

Meanwhile according to the latest news Jagdish Arora, the wife of arrested journo, Prashant Kanojia on the charge of making alleged defamatory online comments against the Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Aditya Nath has moved a habeas Corpus petition in the apex court of the country seeking the release of her husband.

The court will be hearing the petition on Tuesday 11th June.