Today, On 16th October, The Supreme Court stayed the re-arrest of two women journalists from Telangana who were accused of sharing and promoting offensive social media content against Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, after being detained earlier and released on bail.
The Supreme Court intervened to stay the re-arrest of two women journalists from Telangana.
They were initially detained on March 12 and released on bail five days later for allegedly sharing and promoting offensive content on social media aimed at Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
A bench comprising Justice Sandeep Mehta and Vikram Nath suspended a Telangana High Court ruling and issued a notice to the state government, requesting a response to the journalists’ petition.
Pogadadanda Revathy, chief of Pulse News, and Thanvi Yadav, a reporter for the channel, approached the Supreme Court on Tuesday after the High Court upheld a lower court’s decision regarding their case.
The re-arrest order was prompted by the state’s appeal against the lower court’s bail decision, which the High Court confirmed on Monday.
The journalists’ attorney requested an urgent hearing in the Supreme Court, informing a separate bench led by Chief Justice BR Gavai that the women feared further detention. Their initial arrest was carried out by the Cyber Crime division of the Hyderabad Police.
They faced serious allegations, including publishing obscene material, organized crime, criminal conspiracy, spreading rumors to incite hatred, and provoking a breach of peace, following a complaint from the head of the ruling Congress’ social media unit.
It was argued that their posts were “highly provocative,” potentially inciting violence, and represented a “deliberate attempt by Pulse TV to defame and spread propaganda.”
The controversy began after a video surfaced showing Yadav interviewing an individual who made derogatory comments about the Congress and the Chief Minister. Revathy subsequently shared the video on her social media, which gained traction.
Earlier, The counsel representing the journalists requested an urgent hearing, informing the Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai that after seven months of being on bail, they are once again anxious about arrest and potential seizure of their office due to the high court’s order for police custody.
The journalists were detained following a complaint from the head of the Congress state social media unit and are facing serious allegations, including publishing obscene material, organized crime, criminal conspiracy, spreading rumors to incite hatred, and provoking a breach of peace.