The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim protection to four members of the Editors Guild of India from the FIR lodged by the Manipur Police over a fact-finding report they published regarding caste violence in the northeastern state.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra passed the order while issuing notice to the State of Manipur on a writ petition filed by EGI members. The matter will now be heard on next Monday.
Though the petition was not listed today, CJI Chandrachud agreed to take up the matter after senior advocate Shyam Divan mentioned it for urgent hearing.
Diwan said two FIRs have been filed against the team members alleging that their report incites enmity. The bench was initially inclined to dispose of the writ petition by granting limited protection so that the petitioners could approach the High Court.
However, Diwan said that none other than the Chief Minister himself made allegations against the Editors Guild of India in a press conference and even said that the EGI had made inflammatory statements.
He highlighted that the Chief Minister’s statement was an additional aspect that the Court should consider.
After this the bench agreed to issue notice on the petition and grant interim protection.
