New Delhi: The Supreme Court today quashed an FIR registered against senior journalist Vinod Dua last year for sedition and other offences.
The FIR was filled by a local BJP leader in Himachal Pradesh over Dua’s YouTube show.
A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Vineet Saran, said that police across India must scrupulously follow the law on sedition laid down 60 years ago by a 5-J SC bench in ‘Kedar Nath Singh vs State of Bihar’ case before lodging FIR and effecting arrests of journalists.
In Kedar Nath Singh case, the top Court had ruled that sedition charges could not be slapped on a citizen for criticism of public measures or comments on government action, however strongly worded, as it would be consistent with the fundamental right to free speech and expression.
However, the apex court had declined the prayer of Dua that no FIR can be registered against any media personnel with 10 years’ experience unless cleared by a committee.
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