Plea moved in SC against arrest of journalist

SC to hear Tuesday habeas corpus petition

A plea was moved by the wife of journalist Prashant Kanojia before Supreme Court challenging his arrest by Uttar Pradesh police for an "objectionable" tweet against CM Yogi Adityanath.

The top court agreed to hear the habeas corpus petition on Tuesday.

Advocate Nithya Ramakrishnan mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi on behalf of Jageesha, wife of Kanojia, seeking an urgent hearing on Monday itself. She termed the arrest as illegal and unconstitutional.

The court, however, said the matter would be taken up on Tuesday only.

Kanojia was picked by UP police following registration of an FIR on June 7 with Hazratganj police station in Lucknow under various provisions of the IPC and the Information Technology Act.

He had made satirical comments on the CM based on a woman's purported claim of having been in regular touch with Yogi Adityanath through video conferencing.