The Supreme Court has quashed the sedition case against senior journalist Vinod Dua. This case against Dua was registered by Himachal Pradesh Police last year. The matter was related to a video of Vinod Dua, which he uploaded on YouTube and criticized the central government’s Covid lockdown.
The judgment was pronounced by a bench of Justices Uday Umesh Lalit and Vineet Saran. The bench said, “We are quashing the FIR and the case proceedings. Every journalist will be entitled to protection under the Kedar Nath Singh verdict.”
In June 2020, the Supreme Court gave interim relief from arrest to Dua in this case. However, then the bench had refused to stay the FIR.
This FIR was done by a BJP leader from Himachal Pradesh.
On 6 October 2020, the bench of Justice Lalit and Justice Saran had reserved the decision after hearing the arguments of Vinod Dua, Himachal Government and the complainant.Â
What were the allegations against Vinod Dua?
It was alleged in the FIR that the remarks made by the journalist during the ‘Vinod Dua Show’ could have spread communal hatred and disturbed the peace. This show of Dua was streamed on 30 March 2020.
A case was registered against Dua on the complaint of BJP leader Ajay Shyam. Â
Vinod Dua was booked under IPC sections 124A (sedition), section 268 (public nuisance), section 501 (printing offensive things) and section 505 (intending to cause public mischief).
Dua was also accused of misleading information and making false claims under the Disaster Management Act.
Delhi Police had also registered an FIR against Vinod Dua on June 4 for this video. However, this FIR was stayed by the Delhi High Court on June 10.
