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Journalism of Courage
The Supreme Court Thursday stayed the Telangana High Court order allowing the state police to take into custody two woman journalists over YouTube videos, allegedly critical of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, even though they had been granted bail by a Magistrate Court.
Issuing notice on the appeal filed by the duo — Revathi Pogadadanda (44), the managing director of YouTube channel Pulse Digital News Network, and Tanvi Yadav alias Bandi Sandhya (25), an employee — a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed that “in the meantime, the effect and operation of the impugned order shall remain stayed”.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave appearing for the journalists wondered how they could be allowed to be taken into police custody when the bail order is still operating and has not been cancelled.
The duo was arrested in March this year in connection with a “derogatory” video shot at the headquarters of the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). The Hyderabad Police had arrested them following a complaint by a Congress worker.
Police said they were involved in “social media trolling”.
The complainant, a state secretary of the Congress Social Media Cell, had alleged that a video was being circulated on X, where a representative from Pulse News could be seen interviewing an individual, provoking derogatory and abusive statements against Reddy. He alleged this indicated a deliberate attempt by the channel to defame and spread false propaganda, adding that such posts could incite divisions within society and disturb law and order.
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