Supreme Court dismisses sedition charges against Journalist Vinod Dua

Kriti Agrawal

The Supreme Court dismissed a sedition complaint filed in Himachal Pradesh against renowned Journalist Vinod Dua over a YouTube webcast about the Delhi riots last year.

A bench led by Justice U.U. Lalit stated that sedition cases should be registered strictly according to the parameters of the Kedar Singh decision and in strict accordance with the extent and ambit of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code. 

The Bench, on the other hand, rejected Mr Dua’s request that criminal prosecutions be initiated against journalists with a ten-year track record only after they have been approved by a committee set up for the purpose.

The Court ruled that the request to constitute a committee intrudes on the legislative realm.

This decision came after the Supreme Court stated it was time to establish the bounds of the sedition statute in a separate case involving the Andhra Pradesh government’s sedition allegations against two Telugu broadcasters.

A BJP leader lodged the complaint against Mr Dua. The senior journalist was charged with distributing false information. Other allegations included producing public annoyance, printing libellous material, and making words conducive to public mischief, in addition to sedition.

Mr Dua had been earlier protected from arrest by the Supreme Court in June 2020.

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