New Delhi (ILNS): The Gujarat High Court has quashed a sedition case lodged against a journalist.
In May the journalist publish the news of a possible change of leadership in Gujarat assuming that this was being done because of the growing criticism about the growing Coronavirus cases in the state. With the news being incorrect, a sedition case was filed against the journalist for this report.
Justice RP Dholaria gave the order after the editor and Face of Nation’s owner Dhaval Patel apologized unconditionally for the allegedly defamatory article.
According to the police, May 7 Dhawal Patel had allegedly raised the possibility in a story that Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had been called by the Delhi High Command (of the BJP) to change leadership in Gujarat. BJP leader Mansukh Mandavia is a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat.
Dhawal Patel had mentioned in his article that the situation is worsening due to Coronavirus in Gujarat. The failure of Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani is behind the rise in the case of infections, which has also been noted by the Central government and therefore Mandavia has been called by the BJP high command. Hehad written that because of this the speculation of change of leadership in the state has intensified.
A case was registered under section 124A of IPC and section 54 of the Disaster Management Act. Dhawal was arrested in May this year and kept in Sabarmati Central Jail for 15 days.
In its order the Court said that since the present petitioner is a young journalist and has started his career. The petitioner has apologized and the court is satisfied with his apology.
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The court also cautioned Patel not to write any such article without verification in future.