Calcutta High Court Stays Coercive Action Against Journalist In FIR For Alleged False News About Corruption By Nabadwip Municipality
|The Calcutta High Court while admitting his plea, has granted relief to a journalist who published news related to alleged corruption by the Nabadwip Municipality and against whom a crime was registered at the instance of the Municipality.
The Court was dealing with a plea filed by Souvik Banerjee, who had approached the Court for quashing the criminal proceeding under Sections 448, 341, 506, 186, 120B, 34 and Section 353 of the Indian Penal Code pending before the Judicial Magistrate, Nabadwip, Nadia.
A Single Bench of Justice Bibek Chaudhari said, “The instant revision be admitted. … Petitioner is directed to serve notice upon the private opposite party under registered speed post with acknowledgment due and file affidavit of service within three weeks from the date of this order. …The State of West Bengal be served through the learned Public Prosecutor, High Court, Calcutta.”
The Bench further ordered that in the meantime, though the Investigating Officer is permitted to proceed with the investigation, he shall not take any coercive step against the petitioner till July 31, 2023.
Advocates Krishnendu Bhattacharya and Loknath Chatterjee appeared on behalf of the petitioner.
In this case, it was alleged by the petitioner that the Executive Officer of Nabadwip Municipality lodged a written complaint against him and seven others who are working as journalists on different Print and Electronic Media for spreading wrong and false information against the worker of Nabadwip Municipality. It was further submitted that the petitioner published the news item against Nabadwip Municipality alleging that the Municipality was supplying drinking water in lieu of money.
The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the said news item may be true or false but the authorized journalist has every right to publish a news item collected from various sources. It was hence submitted that for the act of a journalist, he cannot be prosecuted in a criminal trial.
Accordingly, after hearing the counsel, the High Court admitted the plea.
Cause Title- Souvik Banerjee v. The State of West Bengal & Anr.