‘Journalists are not terrorists’ says SC, deprecates arrest of scribe from bed room at midnight

Calling the police motion “excesses of the state”, the highest courtroom mentioned plainly “complete lawlessness” is prevailing in Jharkhand.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli refused to intervene with an order of the Jharkhand High Court granting interim bail to the journalist and mentioned it is not going to entertain the state’s enchantment.

“We have seen the facts of the case. These are all excesses of the State and it seems complete lawlessness is prevailing in Jharkhand. No, we are not going to interfere with the High Court order,” the bench instructed Jharkhand’s extra advocate common Arunabh Choudhary, voicing sturdy displeasure over the incident.

“You knock at the door of a journalist at midnight and pull him out from his bedroom. This is too much. You are dealing with a person who is a journalist and journalists are not terrorists,” the bench added.

The high courtroom mentioned the excessive courtroom rightly granted interim bail to the journalist by an in depth order which doesn’t warrant any interference.

“Sorry, we are not going to entertain your plea. Since it is an interim order and matter is pending there, you go and convince the High Court,” the judges instructed Choudhary and disposed of the plea.

Choudhary alleged journalist Arup Chatterjee was concerned in blackmail and extortion actions and a felony case had been lodged in opposition to him.

When the bench requested him about how lengthy Chatterjee was lodged in jail, Choudhary mentioned he was there for 2 to a few days.

“He is lucky that he was out in three days as many people like him have to spend two-three months in jail (before being enlarged on bail),” the bench mentioned.

The Jharkhand authorities had approached the highest courtroom in opposition to the bail granted to Chatterjee by the excessive courtroom on July 19.

The Jharkhand High Court, whereas granting interim bail to Chatterjee on a plea discipline by his spouse, had mentioned after getting a response from the State to her plea the courtroom will take into account if senior Dhanbad police officers together with the SP are required to be issued notices for contempt of courtroom within the gentle of the apex courtroom’s observations in Arnesh Kumar (2014) and DK Basu (1997) judgements wherein pointers had been laid down for the arrest of people.

Baby Chatterjee, the spouse of Arup Chatterjee who’s a director on the channel, had moved the excessive courtroom, claiming her husband was arrested at 12:20 am on the intervening night time of July 16-17, 2022 from their Ranchi house in violation of the provisions of the CrPC.

The High Court had mentioned in its order, “Prima facie, it seems that the process prescribed below Sections 80 and 81 CrPC has not been adopted within the case in hand. These two provisions present that after the arrest is made past 30 Kms of the involved courtroom, the native Magistrate and the police are required to learn, which has not been carried out within the case in hand.

“Moreover, the arrest has been made after the sunset and that too from the bedroom of Arup Chatterjee, who is accused. This is again in violation of the guidelines of the judgment (of the apex court)”.

The High Court had additionally mentioned that prima facie it seems the instructions of the Supreme Court within the case of Arnesh Kumar and D.Okay. Basu had not been adopted. In these instances, the Supreme Court had gone to the extent of ruling that if the instructions weren’t adopted by police officers, contempt proceedings could be initiated in opposition to the erring officer(s) within the excessive courtroom having territorial jurisdiction.

“The petitioner (Arup Chatterjee) has been arrested without following the procedure prescribed under Sections 80 and 81 CrPC and not produced before the court of any Magistrate at Ranchi. It appears that the procedure prescribed under CrPC has been violated”, the Jharkhand High Court held.

Chatterjee was arrested by Dhanbad police in a case registered at Govind Pur police station for alleged extortion.