A wait of one day: the Delhi High Court refused to hear a woman Journalist’s Plea For Protection From Arrest on the day it was mentioned and fixed Friday instead, in an SC/ST Act case brought by a Delhi Police ACP; the allegations on both sides are untested.
New Delhi: When a lawyer asked on Thursday for an urgent hearing of a woman journalist’s plea for interim protection from arrest, the Delhi High Court said no and put the matter down for the next day. The journalist is named in a case registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act on the complaint of Assistant Commissioner of Police Vivek Bhagat. The allegations on each side are untested, the Court has expressed no view on the merits, and the presumption of innocence applies to the journalist and the other persons named in the FIR [Journalist v. State (NCT of Delhi) and Another].
Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma heard the mention. Same-day listing and interim relief were sought; the Bench declined urgent listing and fixed Friday, October 16.
The complaint behind the FIR
The FIR was registered at Parliament Street police station on October 13, on ACP Vivek Bhagat’s complaint. Three people are named: the journalist, another journalist linked to a news portal, and one unidentified person. Along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, it invokes Sections 221 (obstructing a public servant), 356(2) (defamation) and 3(5) (joint liability) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
According to the complaint, the officer was on duty at a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar near Jantar Mantar on October 3 when the accused publicly humiliated him and made casteist remarks, and the journalist questioned his appointment as an ACP while he was performing law-and-order duties. These are allegations in the FIR and have not been tested.
A complaint in the other direction
The journalist has lodged a separate complaint against the officer. In it she alleges that on October 3, as she filmed an activist being detained, he touched her inappropriately and pushed her. So far, no FIR has been registered on that complaint.
Her reply to the FIR’s allegations and the officer’s reply to her complaint were not available at the time of writing, and her allegation is untested. Her name and the details of her complaint are withheld here.
Where things stand until Friday
Neither set of allegations has been ruled on. Because urgent listing was declined, the journalist has no interim protection from arrest today, and relief will be considered at the next hearing. The case grows out of the October protests in Delhi, which are also before the Supreme Court, but the High Court is concerned only with the FIR and the plea for protection.
Case Title: Journalist v. State (NCT of Delhi) and Another [case number not available]
Bench: Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma, Delhi High Court
Date of Hearing: October 15, 2026; listed October 16, 2026
Appearances: Not available