Supreme Court issues notice to MP police on plea by journalists for protection from arrest

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government on a plea filed by two journalists, claiming to have been beaten up in a police station for reporting on the sand mafia.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma sought a response from the state government after a counsel, representing the petitioners asked the court to grant interim protection from arrest to them.

The bench said that unless the court is made aware of the exact nature of the crime attributed to the two journalists, it cannot pass any interim order granting protection from arrest to the two.

"Suppose her client commits a crime like murder, can the court grant no coercive protection order? We would have to hear the police. Let the other side respond. Let the facts be brought by the state also," the bench told the counsel.

The bench also told the counsel that she should have informed about moving to the Delhi High Court.

"We appreciate you as the fourth pillar. But you have to show the apprehension borne out of the record….. What prevents you from going to the Delhi High Court, which is sitting during vacations," the bench asked.

However, the bench finally agreed to hear the plea filed by journalists Shashikant Goyal and Amarkant Singh Chouhan and issued the notice seeking the state government's response.

The bench fixed the matter for further hearing on June 9.

In May, the Delhi High Court granted protection to Chouhan, who claimed there was a threat to his life by the Bhind superintendent of police after he was allegedly beaten up in his office.

The high court had directed Delhi Police to give protection to Chouhan, a resident of Madhya Pradesh and Bhind Bureau Chief of Swaraj Express news channel, for two months.

Last month, three journalists from Bhind had alleged that they were beaten or manhandled inside the SP office, an allegation denied by the officer. Pritam Singh Rajawat, who runs a YouTube channel, Goyal, who runs a news portal and Chouhan alleged in a complaint submitted to the district collector that they were assaulted on May 1.