Supreme Court grants interim protection for scribes who wrote on Adani row

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Gujarat Police not to take any coercive steps against two journalists in connection with an article written by them on the Adani-Hindenburg row.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra issued notice to the Gujarat government on the pleas filed by journalists Ravi Nair and Anand Mangnale.

Senior Advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the two journalists, submitted that the notice to appear is completely without jurisdiction. She claimed that it is nothing but “pure and simple” harassment and a prelude to possible arrest.

Nair and Mangnale approached the court challenging the summons issued by the Ahmedabad crime branch asking them to appear for questioning in connection with preliminary enquiry into their article published on the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) website.

The petitioners got the notices in October from Ahmedabad’s crime branch, which directed them to appear in person in connection with the preliminary enquiry being conducted on the complaint by an investor Yogeshbhai Mafatlal Bhansali.

In their petition, the petitioners contended that the police have not handed over a copy of any complaint or disclosed the provision of law being invoked in the matter.

They also contended if the matter being investigated was under laws of defamation, then the Ahmedabad crime branch would not have jurisdiction.

Adani Group stocks had taken a beating on the bourses after Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations against the business conglomerate. The charges have been dismissed by the Adani Group as baseless.