Summons over Adani report: SC directs no coercive action be taken against 2 journalists

“This trend is now becoming very difficult, everyone is approaching the Supreme Court directly,” remarked Justice Gavai.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Agarwal, appearing for the scribes, said they were not the authors of the article but were correspondents stationed in New Delhi and Mumbai. He also pointed out that on November 3, it had granted protection from coercive action to two others who had authored another piece on the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group.

The counsel pointed out that the enquiry was being undertaken on the complaint of an investor in the Adani group and added that it could at best amount to a complaint for defamation which is non-cognizable.

“One person is in Delhi, one person in Bombay. Preliminary enquiry has been ordered based on some individual’s complaint saying that the article is false. The Gujarat Police has then summoned them personally across the state borders, which your lordships have earlier said cannot be done,” Agarwal said, adding he had come to the Supreme Court instead of going to high courts as the bench is already seized of similar matters.